The Conflicts from within
by CrazyDreaming
Summary: Tension once again rise between Grassland and Zexen. Troubled by this, Chris sets out to do what she feels is right, but the most dangerous enemy of all is one that comes from within as she soon finds herself on the brink of death. C&C please
1. Hero of Zexen

Disclaimer: No I don't own any of the suikoden 3 characters, though I wish I did :D. Please Review this, Your feedback will be greatly appreciated.  
  
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Suikoden3 Fanfic Conflicts from Within Ch1:  
Hero of Zexen  
  
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"This is preposterous!"  
  
A great crash echoed throughout the great council chamber of Vinay de Zexay as steel gauntlets descended to meet fine cedar wood. The owner of the aforementioned gauntlets glared from under her silvery bangs at each of those sitting at the large conference table in front of her.  
  
"What you are proposing is madness!" Her voice, though pleasant at any other time, quivered with outrage.  
  
"Now you are exaggerating, Lady Chris. This arrangement is merely a diplomatic maneuver aimed for the best interest of Zexen." The councilor sitting directly across from Chris tried in what he believed to be a diplomatic tone, only it sounded more like an admonishment.  
  
"Pardon my skepticism, First Councilor Lorn. But, this 'arrangement' of yours has the potential to start an all out war with the grasslands! Mobilizing the knights and moving into what suppose to be neutral territory is not an act of diplomacy, councilor. It's an act of aggression!" The first councilor, a man in his middle ages, with neatly combed back black hair and thin moustaches raised an eyebrow at the outburst.  
  
" That is certainly not so, Lady Chris." In that same admonishing tone, the first councilor continued in what appeared to be a futile attempt to placate the current head of Lightfellow family. "We will merely demonstrate to them the might of Zexens and to remind those barbarians that they are negotiating with a party of strength. Certainly you can see that for you to provide escort to our ambassador in the oncoming trade talk would put us into a position of strength."  
  
" Those Barbarians are ridiculous, do you realize how much of our profits has been lost providing taxes to those savages in order to maintain a steady trade route with Caleria?! I wont stand for such an outrageous arrangement!" Another councilor, sitting to the left of Chris, broke in suddenly.  
  
" The same arrangement that you agreed and signed a treaty on." Chris countered sharply.  
  
" The same treaty that you signed for us." Councilor Lorn corrected, "However, we are not here to assign blames, Lady Chris, but to attempt to correct what seems to be an erroneous situation."  
  
" I do not believe this." Her tone a mixture of incredulity and anger, "Do you have any idea how the grasslanders will react? They wont back down from such an obvious challenge, you will have a full fledged war in no time!"  
  
" Regardless of what your personal opinion might be, Lady Chris. Such is the will of the council and it is up to you to carry out its execution."  
  
Slowly the silvery hair commander of Zexen knights looked down into her lap, and for a few moments appeared to be deep in thought. When she looked up, her blue grey eyes were smoldering embers.  
  
" No, I will not allow my knights to participate in this. Our duty is to protect Zexen from her enemies, not to start wars. Find your own knights to do your own dirty work." With that said, Chris Lightfellow, Silver Maiden of the Zexen lands, and Leader of the Zexen knights, stormed out the council chamber without so much as a backward glance.  
  
Dead silence reigned over the council chamber, shock and disbelief at the audacity that was shown here, and then, as if on some hidden signal, the room exploded into a flurry of outraged cries.  
  
"How could SHE!"  
  
The audacity of that woman!"  
  
"Ungrateful wench."  
  
"We should never have made her captain!"  
  
"Silence!" The shout from the first councilor quieted the various outbursts and quickly brought a semblance of order into the otherwise chaotic room." As you are all aware of it by now, ever since the incident involving the Firebringers 5 years ago, Ms. Lighfellow has been gaining support from the commoners rapidly. Today is just a show of how the balances of power have changed. We dare not take any action against her for the public will never allow us to reprimand her for her actions. This poses a serious threat for us as she has the backing of not only the public but also the military. I suggest each one of you to go home and think hard about how to rectify the current situation. This meeting is adjourned."  
  
'How could we, the most powerful men of Zexen, be powerless before a mere woman?' First councilor Lorn thought gloomily to himself as the other councilors filed out of the chamber. 'How could we let things slid this far out of our control?' The entrance of another though interrupted his train of thought.  
  
"Well what a mess we have here." A man who appeared to be in his early 30s commented idly as he slowly walks into the room. He is dressed in a fine embroidered shirt that is common to the upper echelon of the Zexen society.  
  
"If you have nothing constructive to say, Damien, then don't bother saying anything."  
  
"But of course, that is what you are paying me for, to advise you, dear councilor." Making an elaborate bow, Damien continues in an amused tone of voice. "You see councilor, your problem here is that while a hero who gains immortality through his death is fine and dandy. An immortal hero is something that no one needs."  
  
"What are you suggesting, Damien?"  
  
"Merely to express what a glorious occasion it would be to immortalize Lady Chris's name in the histories of Zexen. Specifically under the section of ...has been, of course." Damien said, drawing out the words as if savoring them.  
  
"Can it be done? We are talking about the bearer of True Water rune here."  
  
"Even true rune bearer has their limits. And accidents, my lord, do happen."  
  
"See that you do it with discretion, failure is not an option here." Deep in thought, Councilor Lorn walked to the window and stared out onto the streets of Vinay de Zexay.  
  
"Yes, an Immortal hero is something that Zexen does not need..."  
  
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"Get my horse ready Louis, we are leaving for Brass Castle right now."  
  
"So soon Milady? We have just arrived here yesterday." The young squire raised an eyebrow at the order of his captain.  
  
"I know, but its just..." Closing her eyes, She searched for the right words for her feeling. "It just feels too overbearing here."  
  
"Yes I understand what you mean." Nodding to himself, he dashed away and with practiced ease saddled both of their horses and led them back to Chris.  
  
"Let us be on our way then."  
  
Slowly they rode out of the iron gates of vinay de zexay and into the Zexen forest en route to the Brass castle. For the first part of the journey they rode in comfortable silence, enjoying the warm sun and peacefulness of the forest.  
  
"Sorry to drag you around like this Louis. I know you have your knighthood exam to worry about, so I shouldn't be wasting your time like this." Chris said suddenly, breaking the silence.  
  
"It is okay, milady. It is always a pleasure to serve." With some hesitancy in his voice, Louis continued on. " By the way milady, what did the council said? You seem agitated."  
  
"The usual rubbish they always say, I will tell you in more detail when we get everyone together." Letting out a sigh Chris adjusted her grip on the rein. " I wish that they would just quit, but that seems to be too much to hope for."  
  
"I am sure everything will turn out for the best, Lady Chris. Whatever happens you can handle it, I have faith in you."  
  
"Thank you Louis, I will do my best."  
  
"I am sure you will!" Louis beamed at his mentor and commander. " Hey look we are here, Brass Castle!"  
  
The fortress that serves as the front line between Zexen and grasslands slowly rose into view. Its iron gate has served many times in the past to keep Zexen safe from the reach of her enemies. Though battered at some parts, the famed castle stood regal and proud even after decades of service. The guards guarding the drawbridge snap to attention as she approaches.  
  
"Lady Chris!" They salute as one.  
  
Nodding slightly, Chris gives the proper response in acknowledgment.  
  
"See I told you guys that I saw her coming in."  
  
"Indeed you have, Percival." Salome, followed by Percival, Borus and Leo, walked out to greet their captain. " Welcome back Lady Chris, I hope you had a safe journey."  
  
"Thank you Salome." In one smooth motion she dismounted from her white mare, slipping down from the saddle with practiced grace." By the way, where is Roland?"  
  
"Probably off somewhere writing love letters to his sweetheart. Honestly, who would have thought the guy had it in him?"  
  
"If you have the time to talk about my personal life Percival, perhaps you should take more time to worry about yours." Roland retorts as he approached the group from the castle, a thoughtful expression on his face. " Come to think of it I believe there is quite the disturbance at east gate. Apparently 2 ladies, Jane and Mary I believe their name was, is having an argument about who should have 'Sir Percival' over for dinner. When I left their arguments have gotten.... how should I put it, physical."  
  
"Sweet goddess, No!" Percival groaned to himself and turns to leave with the heroic intention of preventing further injuries to his ladies. Before he has taken another step though he froze dead in his tracks. " Wait a minute, there are no Jane and Mary here in Br... I mean I don't know any Jane and Mary!"  
  
"Ha Ha Ha, that is a good one Roland." Leo tilts back his head and roared with laughter.  
  
"Yeah he got you good Percival." Borus snickered at his friends plight.  
  
"Oh, Shut up."  
  
"Now now, everyone " Chris couldn't help but grin at her knights' antique. "Stop picking on poor Percy here."  
  
"Lady Chris!" Percival spluttered indignantly at his captains' backhand comment.  
  
As the various snickers die down Salome tried to school his expression back into seriousness and somewhat succeeding. "Milady, what word from the council?"  
  
"Salome, She just got here let her have some rest ok. Its getting late, maybe we should wait until after the dinner to talk business." Borus interjected.  
  
"Yes, perhaps that will be for the best, is it alright with you Milady?"  
  
Nodding, Chris gives her consent "Sounds fine with me."  
  
"I'll go get your room ready, Lady Chris."  
  
"No Louis, I have taken too much of your time already. You should go back to your own studies."  
  
"But..."  
  
"No buts, I'll have a maid take care of it."  
  
"Alright." Louis sighed dejectedly.  
  
"Ok then, with that settled, let's see whats cooking in the kitchen. Gentlemen, shall we go?"  
  
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Dinner passed companionably and now the 6 knights of Zexen plus Louis, gathers in Salomes room to hear Chris recounts what has occurred during the council meeting.  
  
"This is indeed a serious matter milady. Though I support your decision, I must caution you that there might be certain consequences due to this." Salome said gravely after hearing her description of the council meeting.  
  
"What do those buffoons at the council think they are doing?" Borus said heatedly, anger clear in his voice. " I say we all go to Vinay de Zexay and give them a piece of our minds."  
  
"Calm yourself Borus, I believe our captain has already made clear of our intentions. All we have to do as knights is to show our support in her decision." Turning his head, Salome swept his gaze across the room at everyone present, "I believe we all agree on this?"  
  
Various agreement echoed around the table, as the knights' voice their support for their captain.  
  
"Thank you, it is good to know that I have the support of my knights in this." Chris looked at each present gratefully.  
  
"Milady, no one here wants a meaningless war. Least of all the people in this room, we all have our own encounter with the grasslanders. We fought against them and with them on the battlefield, I don't think anyone here would want the meaningless conflict from 5 years ago to occur again."  
  
" Yes, I agree with Percival." Leo boomed in his deep voice, " We can not let the council bully us, now or ever."  
  
" The council will definitely be in an upheaval because of this." Rolands adds" There will of course be further summons though I can not see what else they can do to affect us if we all stick together."  
  
"Yes, I concur, especially not with all the support you have been gaining since the Firebringer incident milady. You are practically a legend amongst the people. The council will not want to go against that."  
  
"I wish you would stop embarrass me like that, Salome. I am no legend."  
  
"If you say so milady," Salome assented, letting a slight smile cross his lips at his captains' modesty. "If there are nothing else I suggest we all go to take some rest, I suspect that tomorrow will be a long day."  
  
As the knights exit the room one by one, Chris held out a hand to stop Louis.  
  
"Louis would you mind brining a cup of tea to my room? I am feeling kind of exhausted."  
  
"Certainly, I'll get to it right away."  
  
Up returning to her room, Chris locked her the door and took off her armor to dress herself in a more casual and comfortable ensemble. With that done she sat down on her reading desk to look through some of the report that has been piled up while she was away. It wasn't long before someone knocked on the door.  
  
"Hold on a sec I'll get it." Standing up she walks toward the locked door and unbolts it, expecting it to be Louis returning with her tea. To her surprise, it was one of the castle maids holding a plate and a cup of steaming tea.  
  
"Umm excuse me Lady Chris, master Louis said that he suddenly remembers an errand that he has to run so he asked me to bring you this." The young maid said timidly.  
  
"Thank you." Taking the cup and placing it on the desk, Chris sits back down and starts to go through the reports again. It was a few minutes later that she noticed the young maid is still in the room.  
  
"May I help you?"  
  
"Well ummm." Flushing with embarrassment she quickly replied, "I just want to say that it is an honor to serve you lady Chris, and please keep up the good work!"  
  
Overcame by embarrassment the maid made a hasty curtsy and fled from the room.  
  
Shaking her head and smiling to herself in amusement she went back to her reading. Over the years she have had many similar instances. Though she should be use to it by now, she sometimes still feel uncomfortable at how some people looked up to her. Absentmindedly she took a few sip of the tea, the taste surprised her though and she stared at the teacup in wonder.  
  
"I never knew we have Karayan tea, I wonder where Louis got it?" Drinking this tea made her remember the time she spent with the Firebringers. 'Geddoe and Hugo, I wonder how they are doing right now?'  
  
Her nostalgia was shattered when her danger sense, honed to a fine edge in combat through the years, warns her of the oncoming danger. Reflexively she dove for her sword as the door slams open. A black clad man, his face hidden behind a black mask, and in his right hand wields a curved copper blade stepped in. With out another word the man slashed down at the kneeling Chris with deadly precision. Knowing she wont be able to draw her sword in time, Chris held up her sword to block, still fully sheathed, and drew out just enough of her own blade to block the deadly strike. Sparks fly as the twin blade met, pushing the descending blade aside and moving along with the motion Chris pushed aside her enemies' blade and with her left hand slamed the sheath into the attackers face. The masked man stumble back from the hit and Chris, now with her sword fully drawn, slowly stood up with her sword at the ready.  
  
"Who are you?" Chris demanded and inwardly she was surprised at the weapon the man is holding. 'A Karayan blade? Why?'  
  
Her attacker replied by making a backhand slash towards her, which she knocked away with a downward swing of her blade. Before the man could make another attack Chris retaliated with a stab of her sword to the mans' chest, forcing him on the defensive as he hastily brought his own blade back to block the attack. Chris continued her attack using her superior speed by slashing at the man's throat with a backhand, which he took a step back to avoid. Taking a step forward, Chris fainted a stab to the mans chest, tricking him to lift up his blade to block an empty strike. The mans eyes widens as he sensed his mistake, but it was too late, the move has left him complete open, though he tried his best to twist out of the way and at same time bringing his sword back down to block, he knew that he would never make it in time. As Chris prepared to ran home her sword though, a wrecking pain flared suddenly throughout her body and involuntarily she flinched. Losing her aim with the sword due to the sudden pain, she struck thin air as the man twists out of the way of her stab. Her momentum carried her past the man, leaving her flanks open to attack. Burning pain flares in her arm and only her quick reflex saved her arm from being severed as she rolls to the side. Black spot danced within her vision as she tried to force herself to get up but only to collapse to her knees again when her strength gave out. Barely holding herself up with her hands and knees, she gasped for breath and tried to suppress the burning pain that is in her arm and deep within her guts. Though she tried to focus her thoughts she could feel herself blacking out. Dimly she became aware of the distant shouting and the last thing she saw was the man, black clad like death, advanced to finish her off. Desperately she tried to summon the power from her true water rune to heal herself, but the energy fizzled and vanished as if never existed.  
  
Then there was only darkness, and pain.  
  
to be continued...  
  
Up next: What?? Chris is dead!? Salome delivers his Eulogy at her funeral!? And why is Borus going to the grasslands?? 


	2. When death becomes of Her

Discalimer and Author rant: Once again Suikoden3 character don't belong to me yadda yadda. Thanks to all who have review my work, I'll try to update as soon as possible. Please give me more reviews so that I may improve on my work.  
  
Black the color that represents darkness and night. The color that symbolizes death and mourning. A solemn and grim color, and though the inhabitants of Brass Castle normally preferred a much lively color, today many has chosen to wear black. For today is a dark day in the histories of Zexen, today Zexen has lost one of its greatest legends. This very morning, the acting captain of the Zexen knights, Salome Harras, announced that Lady Chris Lightfellow, Silver Maiden, White Hero and the defender of Zexen, passed away last night due to mysterious illness. May the goddess have mercy on her soul.  
  
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Suikoden3 Fanfic Conflicts from Within Ch2:  
When death becomes of her  
  
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On the hastily erected podium, Salome Harras, acting captain of the Zexen knights, delievered his remembrance of their late captain to the inhabitants of the Brass Castle. Though his quivering mouth spoke the words from the hastily wrote speech with great passion, his mind couldn't help but wander to the events of last night.  
  
Through out my years of service I have never seen another individual more dedicated more strong willed than our Lady Chris Lightfellow.  
  
Staring out into the darkness night Salome pondered on whether everything will go smoothly with the council, though with that bunch, smooth is a relative word. Sighing to himself, Salome wondered if his captain has really made the right decision this time. Though he trusts his captain with unquestionable faith and from every angle her decision seemed to be morally just, he could not help but have a shadow of doubt in the situation. After all what they are doing right now can very well be considered treason and that is something that he did not want to think about. Downing the glass of wine from his table, Salome shook his head ruefully.  
  
'No use worrying about the bridges you have already cross, but worry about the ones that you have yet to cross.' he thought to himself.  
  
A loud crash from the beyond the walls broke his reverie though and without much thought he bolted out of his room and into the hallway to investigate what has happened. What greeted him was something that he thought he would never see there. The 2 Knights guarding the hallway slumped over in their armor, their head bent at an awkward angle, and in that brief glance Salome could already tell that they are dead. Worrying about the captain, Salome bolted down the hall toward where his captain resides.  
  
....Her bravery and courage is only matched by her beauty and prowess in battle....  
  
When he arrived, he was horrified to find his captain sprawling motionless on the ground, and a black clad man wielding a bloodied blade standing over her. With a blood-curling shout, He leapt forward throwing all his weight onto the back of the man, hoping that he wasn't already too late. With the force of his tackle he knocked the man away from the unconscious Chris, the blade in the black clad assailants hand went flying as they both tumbled to the ground. Rolling off Salome, the masked man jumped to his feet and leapt through the window without so much as a backward glance. The welfare of his captain foremost in his mind, Salome quickly got up and went over to the prone form of Lady Chris, what he saw made him feel as if he can no longer breath.  
  
..It is a sad day for all of us gathered here, as we all remember her compassion and kindness, which shines like a star in the darkness and chaos of this world...  
  
Black blood poured freely from a large gash on her right arm, and her body felt like hot iron to his touch, Her weak and labored breathing and the occasional groan of pain is the only sign that she is still alive.  
  
"What happened?" Borus, Roland and Leo almost on heel of each other, rushed into the room and froze at the scene.  
  
"Our Lady has been attacked," Roland replied, wasting no time to explain further, he bellowed out to them in an urgent voice. "Leo, go grab me some clean hot water! Roland, go get that medicine box that I kept in my room! Borus, go find Percival, we need his flowing rune right now!"  
  
As the three knights scrambled to do as they were ordered, Salome rips off a piece of his own shirt to stench the flowing blood. Though he tried to remain calm, His taut face and quivering palm betrays the turmoil from within.  
  
'Black blood, burning fever, it can't be that!' Salome desperately thought to himself.  
  
Of the 3 knights Roland returned first, kneeling down beside Salome, he opened up the box to allow Salome an easier access to its contents.  
  
"Is.is she going to be alright?" Roland asked hesitantly.  
  
"I honestly do not know, the wound should be no problem." Salome replied in a tight voice. " The poison however..."  
  
"She's poisoned? do you recognize what it is?."  
  
" I believe I do, though I need to make sure first." Shifting to the side, Salome maneuvers himself as to give room to Roland. " Here can you hold this cloth here to slow the bleeding? When Leo comes back with the water wash the wound, stitch the wound up and wrap it up with the bandage here. I trust your hands more than mine right now anyways. Feed her some antitoxins and see if that helps. If Percival comes back have him try to use the flowing rune.... though I do not believe that'll do much good anyways."  
  
"Where are you going?" Roland asked in confusion.  
  
"I need to think, to plan." Looking back Salome seemed almost apologetic, " I can't tell you much right now, but I have an idea, I'll be back soon, I promise."  
  
Picking up the blade that assassin dropped, Salome walked out of Chris's room and back to his own room. Slowly he turns over the blade in moonlight to examine its surface, then sniffed gingerly at the blade surface and with each moment he slowly realize that his worst fear might be realized.  
  
...All we can do is remember her valiant deeds and prey for her salvation in the arms of our Goddess. May she have mercy on her soul.  
  
'And may she has mercy on all our souls.' Salome thought grimly to himself as he finished up the speech, his hands tighten into fists. 'For the sin of men is heavy indeed.'  
  
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At the same time Salome is making his speech, a lone rider holding what appeared to be a large cocoon covered by a large cloak between with one arm while riding hard with the other across the plain of Amur. Dust flies up behind him as his horses' galloped at top speed across the grassy plain. Shifting his grip on the rein, he moved so that he would get a better hold of the bundle laying against his chest with his other arm. Strands of blonde hair flied out to block his vision and the rider, Borus of the Zexen knights, shook his head to clear away the offending strands. Although he knew that he should concentrate on the road ahead, his eyes couldn't help but keep on wondering back to the bundle he is protecting. A gust strong wind pushed back the protective cover of the bundle and silver flowing hair spilled out in waves across his chest. A weak moan escaped from his charge and he gritted his teeth with worry. His entire body tensed with concentration as he spurs his horse to greater speed, his mind heavy with the burden laid upon him.  
  
"Percival! come on she needs you right now!" With Percival right behind him, Borus ran quickly up the stairs and back into Chris's' room. When he arrived he noted that both Roland and Leo has already returned before him and is currently in the process of putting bandage on their fallen captain, Salomes' absence though troubles Borus.  
  
"Where is Salome?"  
  
"He went off to search for a way to help our Lady." Roland replied absentmindedly, his attention focused solely on the job at hand. "Percival, come over here and try your flowing rune on her."  
  
"I'll give my best shot." Percival nodded in agreement and then began to chant the words to the most powerful healing spell that he knows. Blue lights danced around him for a moment and then shoot out toward the fallen form only to fizzle out harmlessly when it came into contact with her.  
  
"What?! It didn't work?" Percival gasped in surprise at the failure the spell.  
  
"As I feared, the enemy has indeed plot out this well." Salomes' grim voice informed everyone of his return, and all the knights turned to see the shorthaired man walked tensely back into the room.  
  
"How did you know that wasn't going to work?" Borus asked.  
  
"It all comes back what was inflicted upon her right now. A rare and deadly Karayan poison now coursed through her veins. It is something that I haven't seen since the war with the grassland over 10 years ago, one that cannot be cured through the normal use of antitoxins. Roland I trust that you have already tested that out yourself?"  
  
"Yes, that does appear to be the case." Roland replied solemnly.  
  
"The poison, however, can be removed using the power of the runes. Whoever tried to kill our captain should know of how easy it could have been removed yet still chose this method, why?" Salome closed his eyes as if to organize his thoughts. "Furthermore, our lady wields the power of true water rune, one of the most powerful healing rune in existence yet still she befalls to this poison, how is it so?"  
  
His eyes snaps open and he fix each of one of them with a hard stare. " The obvious answer would be that they have somehow found out a way to suppress the powers of the runes, one that is powerful enough to suppress even the power of a true rune. By removing the only means in our disposal to cure her they leave us with nearly no choice but to slowly watch her die."  
  
"Damn it, those bastards!" Furious at this development Borus spun around slammed a fist into the desk, knocking papers and cup flying. The tea that Chris was drinking flies off and shatters on the ground, making a loud sizzling sound as its content spills all over the floor. Shocked, Borus took an involuntary step back from the scene.  
  
" So the tea was poisoned as well, that will explain how she was harmed so easily. To not only poisoned her food but also sent another to kill her, our enemy is cunning indeed." Salome rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "First of all though, Roland, I need you to start off to Vinay the Zexay this instant and tell them.. Tell them that Lady Chris has passed away during the night due to an unknown illness."  
  
"What!?" Borus shouted, his body shaking with barely contained fury and outraged at what Salome is saying he grabbed the other man by the scruff. "You can't seriously be thinking of giving up on her can you?"  
  
"Calm down Borus, that is precisely what I am not doing. Giving up on her that is." Unfazed by his companion outburst or perhaps expecting it, Salome easily slipped out of the other mans grasp and continues on, "It is no coincidence that this happened today of all days. We will hold a fake funeral in the morning, hopefully whoever is responsible for this will be convinced that they have succeeded and that will give us the time we need."  
  
"You are suggesting that the council has a hand in this? Though all evidence points to Karaya?" Roland enquired curiously, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Though we can not complete discount them, I do not believe those evidence is enough to implicate the Karayans. Especially not after we fought alongside them in the last Flame Champion war, or do you believe that the Flame Champion would actually resort to such a thing? Besides, in the current situation we have little option but to believe in their integrity." Salome turns his gaze back to Borus, meeting the blonde man eye to eye. "Because Borus, you will need to take Lady Chris to Karaya, since the poison came from there, it make sense that they would have an antidote for it."  
  
"Me? Why me? Wouldn't Percival be a better choice?" Surprised at the turn of events Borus asked frantically. "He is a better rider than me and.. Damn it those Karayans hate me!"  
  
"I realize that Borus, however I need Percival here because I have no way of foreseen what kind of panic the news of Lady Chriss' death will cause and Percival has a way with words that will be useful. You are our second best rider, and she needs all the haste we can give, I do not know how long she can hold on." Salome explained grimly, though he sounded confident in his plan, his gaze told Borus that he felt as uncertain as Borus himself felt  
  
"Very well, I will set out this very instant." Solemnly, Borus bend over to pick his captain up. He grits his teeth when he sees the pained expression on her feature.  
  
"Stay in Karaya as long as possible, I need time to deal with council on this end. It will be safer there for her anyways." Salome quickly adds.  
  
"I understand, I won't fail even if it means my life." Borus vowed grimly.  
  
'I failed you the last time we came here Captain.' Borus thought determinedly to himself as he race across Plain Amur towards the home of Karayans. 'I wont fail you this time'  
  
His eyes widened though as a group of a dozen horsemen came into view suddenly. Each clad in black, the horsemen split into 3 groups of 4. One group came straight at him and the other 2 approached him in flanking positions from either side. Borus sensed the ill intention of the oncoming horsemen, and he spurred his horse to gain better speed while maneuvering his path in a curve to the right, hoping to go around them. Although 2 of the group seemed to have trouble following his movement, the one group of rider flanking his right managed to match him. Hoof thundering the black riders pulled up beside Borus and took swings at the Zexen knight with long swords. Borus tilted his body to the side, away from the swings and bare avoid the deadly blade. Frustrated by his lack of success, the black clad rider leapt from his saddle and tackles Borus off his mount. With the safety of his captain foremost in his mind, Borus shields his captain from the fall by using himself as a cushion. Stunned by the force of impact Borus struggled to get back up and barely managed to draw out his own sword in time to deflect an overhead strike made by one of his assailants. From the corner of his eyes he saw that the other horsemen have finally caught up and moved to form a ring around him. From the way they moved, Borus could see that they are skilled swordsmen. Though he is confident that he could take any one of them and perhaps 3 at the same time and emerged victorious, with the current odds he would have no chance.  
  
'I am sorry to have failed you again, milady ' Borus thought sadly and shifted his stance to a more offensive one, hoping that he would take at least a few along with him.  
  
As one, the group of black clad men charged and the killing begun in earnest.  
  
-to be continued.  
  
Up next: Borus in trouble, can he save both himself and Chris? Guess who shows up.. WHAT? They don't have the cure?? 


	3. The Holy Ground

Authors rant: To those who have reviewed Thank you so much for your support. I'll try my best to get the Chapters out as soon as possible. Now on to ch3.  
  
As one the Black Clad men surged forward, intending on ripping the blonde Zexen knight to shreds. The distance between them shrunk rapidly and Borus readied himself for the oncoming onslaught. Suddenly a large geyser of swirling flame erupted amongst the Black Clad Swordsmen, sending several of them flying. The sudden turn of events surprised the swordsmen and the moment of hesitation proved to be a big mistake as two of those who still remained standing got bowled over by two speeding blurs. The first blur resolved itself to be a young Karayan male slightly taller than Borus himself. His long blonde hair, highlighted at the ends with black, is tied back into a lose ponytail that runs to his waist. His cloth is that of the standard Karayan fashion, of yellow and red diamond patterns, in his right hand he wields a long curved blade. With a precise strike he fell the man under him and then moved to engage another. The 2nd blur resolved itself to be a large griffon, its snow white feather gleamed under the sunlight, it swung its giant claw and it too dispatched the black clad swordsman that was under him.  
  
What appeared to be the leader of the group, sensing the turn of the battle, held out his hand high in a sharp gesture, and what remained of Boruss' assailants turned and fled from the battle. The Griffon gives a loud shriek and moved to pursue, but the Karayan stopped him.  
  
"Fubar, let them go, there are no need for pursue."  
  
Up till now Borus had no idea who his rescuer is, though he felt that the young man was familiar to him. It wasn't until he spoke that Borus managed to piece together who the person in front of him was.  
  
"Hugo!"  
  
**************************************************************************** *******  
  
Suikoden 3 Fanfic Conflict from within ch3:  
The holy ground  
  
**************************************************************************** *******  
  
Hugo turned around at the sound of his name and looked Borus straight in the eye.  
  
"It has been a long time, Borus of the Zexens. Why have you come to the grasslands?" The Karayan asked tersely. "Or more precisely, judging from the direction you are going, what business do you have with Karaya?"  
  
"I. no, Lady Chris needs your help, Sir Hugo!" Borus exclaimed pointing to his charge, which has been laid gently on the ground behind him.  
  
"Chris!?" Hugos' eyes widened as he realized who is lying motionlessly on the ground, in a flash he was kneeling beside her. With one hand he brushed aside some strands that was matted to her forehead by sweat. " She is having a fever, what happened to her?"  
  
"She was attacked, the assailant used a poisoned blade." Borus explained anxiously, body quivering with urgency. "Salome said the poison is from Karaya, please, Flame Champion, you must help her!"  
  
"I'll bring her to the village, there may be someone who can." Slowly he picks the silver maiden up in his arms and place her gently on the back of Fubar. " Here Fubar can you carry her to the village?"  
  
"Kueeeeeee!" Fubar replied with a loud shriek and folded his wing gently around her.  
  
Hugo gave a nod of satisfaction and whistled loudly. It wasn't long until a large deer like creature ran up to him. In a smooth motion Hugo mounted, he then looked back to Borus.  
  
"Are you coming?"  
  
"I lost my mount during the fight," Borus replied shaking his head, " I will follow as soon as possible though. I leave the rest to you, sir Hugo."  
  
"Borus, you said that the poison was Karayan. Do you believe that one of us did it?" Hugo asked, in a serious tone.  
  
"No I do not."  
  
"Good, because I won't leave Lulu's vengeance in anyone elses' hand." With that he dug his heel into his mount, sending it into a gallop. Borus' eyes widened at that last comment but before he could say another word, Hugo was already gone.  
  
**************************************************************************** *******  
  
Like the wind, Hugo glided forward. Landscapes became blurs as he urged his mount to go faster. As the villages' best rider, Hugo has often used this route in his practice yet never before had he the urgency today. Faster and faster he went and he felt like he was riding the wind itself. Normally he would have glorified in this kind of feeling, but today his heart is filled with mixtures of emotions that he could not sort out. Uncertainty returned and old wound reopened, to see Chris again and under this circumstance made his thoughts swarmed with confusion. After a hard ride, the village of Karaya slowly rose into view. Though the village was burned down in the incident 5 years ago, the people of Karaya quickly rebuilt and now the village stood as if it has stood there for decade.  
  
Upon his arrival to the village, Hugo dismounted and walked in leading his mount with Fubar in tow. The village is in a flurry of activities as people prepare for the summer festival tomorrow night. As he went past various villagers a variety of response greets him.  
  
"Welcome back Hugo, how was the ride, did you make a new record today?"  
  
"Big brother Hugo, come play with us."  
  
"Hugo, where should I put the fruits? How about the decorations?"  
  
Hugo gave each a curt nod in acknowledgement and hurried past them toward his destination. He stopped at one of the simple hut deeper into the village. Very carefully he lifts Chris off Fubars' back and carried her across his arms.  
  
"Wait for me here, Fubar." He told the Griffon and then promptly walked inside the hut.  
  
It was a simple hut, with few furnishings. On the wall there are several weapons indicating it as the home of a warrior.  
  
"Beecham, I need your help." Hugo shouted.  
  
From behind a screen of fur the aged warrior walks out calmly, his brow furrowed at the urgency of Hugos' voice.  
  
"Hugo what is." He stopped suddenly as he realized exactly whom Hugo is holding. " By the Sprits! Isn't that the silver maiden of Zexens? Did the thought of vengeance drive you mad? What have you done, Hugo?"  
  
"I didn't do anything, Beecham." Shaking his head he relays the tale of his encounter with Borus. " He said that she is inflicted with a Karayan poison. That is why she is like this."  
  
"Poison eh? Here let me have a look." Beecham proceeded to check on Chris's temperature and wound.  
  
"Yes I believe I know what is inflicting her," After a few moments of examination he finally declared. "A rare poison processed from Tsurai roots. It was used by some of the young warriors to coat their arrows and blades in the war a few years back, Chief Lucia thought that it's dishonorable and cowardly to use such a thing though. So she banned the use of this poison, none have used it since."  
  
"The only cure is by mixing the Tsurai roots itself with other herbs." Beecham continued. " Unfortunately for her though, we do not have any here in the village at the moment."  
  
"Tsurai roots?" Hugo looked thoughtful as he searched his memory. "I remember they grow near the pond of the spirits. All I have to do is go get them and bring them back right?"  
  
"Yes they do grow there, however by the time you get back. She will already be dead. " Beecham replied grimly.  
  
"What?" Hugo Gasped.  
  
"Judging from her current condition, she will not last the night." Beecham shook his head sadly. " Even if you set out now, you wont be able to get back till tomorrow morning. By that time, it will already be too late."  
  
" The I guess I have no choice but to take her there then." Hugo said in a determined voice.  
  
"That place is Karayan holy ground you can't take an outsider there!" Beecham exclaimed. "Besides not even Fubar can fly up there, do you seriously believe that you can climb the cliff there while carrying a person?"  
  
"I will take full responsibility as the acting chief for this." Hugo answered his voice strong and without a shadow of self-doubt. "As for the other, I got up there once, I'll do it again."  
  
"I suppose there is no convincing you to do otherwise now, it amazes me how much you are like your mother." Beecham said fondly while shaking his head, "Wait here and I'll get you the formula as well as give you the other stuff you need for the cure."  
  
The old warrior walked to the back of the hut and opened a wooden box. After some shoveling around he returned with a small sack.  
  
"Here you go that should have everything you need." Beecham said, fastening the sac around Hugos' waist, "May the spirits watch over you and lend wings for your journey."  
  
"Thank you, Beecham. I'll be back soon, take care of the festival for me will you?"  
  
"When Chief Lucia comes back from Tinto, she will be mad to learn that you have been shirking in your duties again."  
  
Hugo gave Beecham a sheepish grin and then dashed outside. Once again He placed Chris gently on Fubar and then gave Fubar an affectionate pet on the head.  
  
"I need you to look after her again, Fubar. Wait here for a few minutes though, I will be back soon."  
  
Hugo took off once again and this time ran straight to his own house. After some rifling he came up with 2 coils of strong rope, shouldering them he quickly ran back to Fubar. With Fubar in tow He grabbed his mount and quickly made his way outside of village. Once outside, he jumped back onto his mount and this time sets out toward one of the mountain in the distance.  
  
Although it was a short trip compared to the last one, by the time he got there it is close to sunset. The pond of the spirits lies on top of a sheer cliff that belongs to one of the many mountain ranges that surrounds the grasslands. Although there is another way to reach the top it is one that would take the traveler around the mountains that will in turn lengthen the travel by days. Hence the shortest and most efficient way to reach the pond would be to scale the cliff surface. This was the task that was used as a trial in the coming of age ritual in Karaya. Hugo himself has completed the same test a few years back. Hugo sighed and steeled himself for what he knew to be a difficult journey, one that was made even more difficult due to the burden he must carry. Hugo leapt off his mount and tied it to a near by tree. After feeding it some food, he walked to Fubar and gently lifts the burden the griffon is carrying. With the ropes on him, Hugo ties Chris securely to his back.  
  
"Come back in the morning, Fubar." Hugo told Fubar before starting his journey up. Hugo took a deep breath to ready himself and then leapt onto the cliff surface and began his journey up. Although a skilled climber, the extra burden really slowed Hugo down. He only made little progress, by the time the last light vanished over the horizon. Without any source of light, Hugo is forced to grope blindly for a secure spot, making the task even more difficult. What he thought was a secured foothold turned out to be loose as it gave out from beneath him. Only his quick reflex saved him as he dangled from falling to his doom with only his left arm for support. Desperately he sought for better purchase as his strength slowly gives out and was barely in time in finding a sturdy grove to put his foot in through sheer luck.  
  
'Damn it that was close.' He thought to himself with no small amount of relief. Suddenly a thought struck and he began to go through one of the earlier exercise he did after obtaining the true fire rune. A red glow sprung up from his right hand illuminating his surroundings. No longer blind, Hugo continues his climb up, pushing himself to make better progress. After what seemed to be hours of climbing he finally arrived at his destination. With a loud gasp he hauled himself over the edge and onto the secured ground. For a few minutes all he could do was to lay there gaping, out of breath from the exertion. Slowly though he managed to haul himself back to his feet. In front of him, the pond of spirits stood silently in the dark, fireflies danced in the air above illuminating the water and creating an ethereal scene. Hugo gave the area a quick look and found a large rock to put Chris on top of. He quickly walked over and unfastened the rope binding the unconscious woman to him, gently he eased the maiden down from his back. A loud gasp caught his attention and he bent over to examine the unconscious woman. Sweat poured down from her brow like rain, her teeth gnashed together as if fighting some unknown pain, her breathing quick and labored. Though Hugo is not familiar with the symptoms of the poison, he knew that he did not have much time left.  
  
He opened the sac that Beecham gave him. He followed the instructions to mixed up the herbs and prepared them accordingly. With only the root missing in the formula, he quickly scoured the area surrounding the pond for the Tsurai roots. He found some growing behind a small tree, and with much care he dug up the precious root. With the root in hand he quickly mixed it in with the rest of herbs. With the antidote now completed, Hugo gently forced Chris's mouth open and fed her the mixture with some water from the pond. Reflexively she swallowed the mixture and although it did not seem to working at first, soon her fever began to recede. Hugo lets out the breath he was holding and falls backward onto the ground. He examined Chris again and was relieved to note that she also seemed to be breathing easier and the pain too seemed to have stopped. Glad that the cure worked, Hugo wiped a sweat from his eyebrow.  
  
"Its not over yet, Hugo of Karaya, Flame Champion of the grasslands, heir to the true fire rune." A voice suddenly said.  
  
Hugo turned to the sound surprised that he did not detect the person sneaking up on him, yet what he saw surprised him even further. A young blonde girl about 4 years of age and wearing a green dress floated 2 feet above the pond, her image transparent and seemed to flicker once in while.  
  
"Who are you? Are you one of the spirits?" Hugo asked, once the initial shock wears off.  
  
"No I am not, at least not yet." Making a slight curtsy she continued, " My name is Seriam , a spirit speaker of Alma Kinan, I came here on behalf of the one who has gone before."  
  
"You are a spirit speaker? And who is 'one who has gone before'." Hugo asked, confused at the unfolding event.  
  
" I can not tell you who that is, all I can say that she knows lady Chris very well. That is why she wants to help Lady Chris," For a moment her image seems to flicker out only to return 2 seconds later. " I do not have much time, I am really in Alma Kinan right now and the only reason I can speak to you right now is because this place is deeply connected with the spirit realm. But even then I do not have much time, so hold your questions and listen well."  
  
"Although the poison in her system is purged, she is still going to die. The poison has done too much damage to her body and she is in no condition to use her water rune to heal herself. The only way she can survive is for you to channel your own life force through the true fire rune and into the water rune so that it may heal her." More flickers ran across Seriams' translucent image and she seemed strained. " Take care though because the process is very dangerous and if something goes wrong both of you might die, tear apart by the feedback force of both runes. You must keep a clear mind and stay focused. I leave the rest to you." With that the image flickered out completely.  
  
Though mystified at the occurrence, Hugo felt that there might be some truth behind what the girl said. In the quietness of the night, Hugo could clearly hear Chris' breathing and though it is no longer labored it felt extremely weak and getting weaker by the minute. The moonlight casts a soft glow on the sleeping maidens face, and Hugo was struck at how soft and gentle she looked right now. Softly he traced the outline of her features, down her right arm, and then her right hand. Softly he grasped her hand with his right and was surprised at how soft it felt in his grip.  
  
'Who would have thought this hand could swing the sword so masterfully so beautifully and so fearsomely. The same hand that cut down countless. The same hand that killed lu.' Forcefully he stopped his train of thought for that will only open old wound. Hugo have no idea why he so readily jumped to her defense, why he risked his life for hers when he should be killing her instead, if not for Lulu then for the countless grasslanders she killed. Yet even though he does not know why he is saving her, he does know why she should not die.  
  
"Because your people needs you," He said softly to her leaning forward, his forehead touching hers. A red glow intertwined with blue began to shine brightly between their hands as he focused all his strength through his true fire rune and into the true water rune. "Because without you countless more will die, both grasslander and Zexen, because it is through your work there are peace between Zexen and Grasslands." A Sharp pain suddenly erupted from his hand, spreading throughout his entire being. He gritted his teeth as he felt like he is being torn apart, fighting to stayed focused he continues to channel his energy into Chris' true water rune.  
  
"So live, Chris Lightfellow. Live, Silver Maiden. If not for duty then for the people who need you." With that said and his own strength spent, Hugo collapsed forward into the dark embrace of unconsciousness.  
  
Up next: Damian continues to weave his plot for the Grassland and Zexen, spelling trouble for both side. Meanwhile back in Karaya the shadow of doubt comes alive slowly. Guilt and anger slowly eats away in the heart of man. 


	4. Festival

Rants: Thank you very much for all of those who continues to give me support. As for the revisions on the previous Ch. I'll work on those when I have the time. and maybe change them at a later date. This Chapter has been hard to work on, partly because of its length and partly because of certain situations that I was uncertain about. Hopefully the next ch will be easier to work on. Well then, on with the show.  
  
"So they got to Karaya? Then it is safe to assume that the Lightfellow woman still lives then." Damien said irritably to the black clad man standing in front of him. "Doesn't matter though, the possibility that she might have survived the initial attempt was taken into account. It would not affect my plan much if she were allowed to live for a while longer. Be prepared though, I may have another job for you soon."  
  
"Very well, you know where to find me." The man said one last time before promptly walked out of the well-furnished room.  
  
'The Lightfellow luck strikes again. ' Damien thought darkly to himself and leaned back on the luxurious couch in his room. 'It seems that your daughter is more resilient than she seems, 'Jimba' '.  
  
"Doesn't matter though, in the end I'll have what I want, and you will be left with nothing." He smirked to himself and picked up a glass of wine from a nearby table.  
  
Just then, the door to his room slammed open and councilor Lorn stormed in.  
  
"What did you do Damien!" Lorn snarled at the man sitting on the couch.  
  
"Why it is such an honor for you to grace my humble abode, Councilor. May I get you anything." Damian commented idly, seemingly oblivious to the mans' anger.  
  
"You were supposed to make her death seem like an accident! What exactly did you do!?"  
  
"Why I have no idea what you mean, councilor." Damien said innocently.  
  
"Don't play dumb with me." Lorn shouted, "Someone started a rumor that Chris was assassinated by Karayan blade coated with poison. As a result we had a mob blocking the council Hall entrance all day, demanding retribution. We had to call in a squad of knights to finally remove them!"  
  
" Now that you mentioned it councilor, that does sound exactly like how she was supposed to have died." Damien commented idly, seemingly more interesting in his wine then answering the frustrated councilor.  
  
" So that is true then. wait a minute, 'supposed to?' You don't mean that she is still."Horrified at this, Lorn gaped at the man in front of him.  
  
" As long as you or the council is concerned, she is dead. Do I make myself clear?" Damian cut in sharply.  
  
"Why you, how dare you speak to me in this tone? I'll..gah." Councilor Lorn was abruptly cut off when he found himself slowly lifted into the air by throat. Vainly, he tried to pry himself from the mans impossibly strong grasp. 'How? He was on the couch a second ago?'  
  
"You'll do what? Arrest me?" Damian said amusedly, tightening his grip on the councilor with his left hand while still holding the wine with his right. "Not unless you want everyone to find out what exactly your involvement was in the death of their 'Lady Chris' I would hate to see what the other councilors, not to mention the mob, would do to you once they knew."  
  
"Now if you would take a sit councilor we can start discussing business.' Like a pile of sack he threw the councilor against the couch, almost tilting it over with the force of the throw. The councilor, finally able to breath again, could do nothing but lay there gaping and coughing as Damian leisurely strode over to the chair adjacent to him and sat himself down.  
  
"You. it was you. Who started the rumor." The councilor finally managed to gasped out.  
  
"Told them the truth you mean. Quite right councilor, how brilliant of you." Damian said, chuckling. "Now then, let us discuss the details of our little partnership quickly, so that you may get to your preparations. You know, talking things over with other councilors trying to persuade them beforehand and what not, the kind of under the table dealing you politicians usually do."  
  
"What are you talking about," First Councilor Lorn asked, no small amount of agitation and fear evident in his voice. " What preparation?"  
  
"Why Councilor, the preparation of war of course."  
  
**************************************************************************** *******  
  
Suikoden 3 Fanfic Conflict from within ch4:  
Festival  
  
**************************************************************************** *******  
  
A maniac laughter echoed throughout the darkness the sound of metal scrapping against stone became closer with each moment, She ran. In the darkness there was no way to tell where she was going, yet instinctively she ran, desperately be away from the unseen demon. All of a sudden she began to fall, spiraling down into the endless darkness. Light and sound assaulted her in varying sequence, memories of what seemed to be a lifetime ago flashed across her mind. The war with grasslands.Wyatt Lightfellow, her father. when she learned of her fathers disappearance. Her subsequent vow to follow in her fathers' footstep. Kain Reinhart, the one who first taught her how to use the sword.Her knighthood test, subsequent battles and her eventually joining the fire bringers, the years working on maintaining the peace. All that flashed by in an instant, and then a great inferno consumed her from below, its fury flames seared into her very being.  
  
Chris opened her eyes slowly to the bright morning sunlight. She squinted her eyes at the glaring daylight. Reflexively she tried to shade her eyes with her hand but found her right hand in the tight grasp of another. She turned her head only to see the face of another person merely inches from her own. Surprised, she slipped her hand out from his grasp and gave a hard shove to the person on top of her, which tilted him over and caused him to tumble off the rock and into the pond with a loud splash. Quickly she stood up and tried to look for a sword to defend herself with, her face flushed at the compromising position they were in.  
  
With a loud splash the man broke through the surface of the water, his wet hair covering most of his face.  
  
"What did you do that for??" He spluttered.  
  
" You pervert!" She snarled in reply, " What did you do to me? And where am I?"  
  
"I didn't do anything to you, and right now you are at the pond of the spirits in Karayan territory."  
  
"Karaya? what am I doing here?" Chris suddenly remembered the Karayan blade her assailant was using. " Am I being held prisoner here?"  
  
"Prisoner? Don't be absurd," the longhaired Karayan replied while brushing away some of the hair that is blocking his face. " What do you remember?"  
  
"I remember someone tried to kill me with a Karayan blade." Chris furrowed her brow in concentration. " Not much else I am afraid."  
  
"Borus mentioned that you were attacked, so it was not just a Karayan poison they were using, but our weapons as well." He nodded to himself; "You were inflicted with a rare poison, Lady Chris, one that can only be cured with herbs that is growing at this place, so Borus brought you here to get help."  
  
"Borus? He is here as well? Where is he?"  
  
"He lost his mount on his way here, because you need treatment immediately so we went on ahead without him, He should have arrived in the village by now though.  
  
"I see, if what you said was true good sir, then I apologize for my rude behavior earlier." She said sincerely while extending a hand to him to help him out of the water. As he took her hand, she finally has the chance to take a good look at his face and her eyes widens in recognition.  
  
"Hugo?" She exclaimed, surprised at the identity of her savior.  
  
"Finally figured out eh?" Hugo said with a hint of irritation in his voice.  
  
"I was so preoccupied with what happened I didn't realize it was you." Chris said taking a good look at the young man in front of her. "You certainly had changed."  
  
"Grown taller you mean," He chuckled.  
  
"How though? Unless you removed the True Fire rune?" She asked, curious at how he managed to age while under the influence of a true rune. She herself has not aged a day since taking on the True water.  
  
"No I still have it. " He said lifting his right hand and showing her the symbol of the true fire rune. " As to how, it is something that I managed to learn from both Sana and the bits of memories of the former Flame champion, one of the techniques that he learned during his search to seal the true fire rune has the ability to allow one to age normally."  
  
"The thing is that it only worked for the first few year after you have obtained the true rune. It has something to do with the fact that the true rune will gain a stronger bond to your soul overtime. Mine stopped working almost a year ago." Hugo explained to Chris, a thoughtful expression on his face.  
  
"So the only sure way would be to seal the true rune then." Chris concluded, looking down at her own true rune.  
  
"Apparently so." Hugo shrugged and began to pile up a small pile of twigs and branches from the surrounding area. "Could you turn around, Chris?"  
  
"Certainly, but why? "  
  
"Because I need to take off my cloth to dry it and it doesn't feel comfortable with you watching."  
  
"Right," Chris quickly turned around feeling embarrassed at the entire situation, looking away from the young Karayan, "My apologies for pushing you into the pond, I was surprised and acted without thinking."  
  
"That is alright. " Came the nonchalant reply. Suddenly Chris felt an immense heat on her back and she assumed that he has used his fire rune to light the branches.  
  
"With this much heat it should be done in moments, too bad I can't do anything about my pants though." Hugo said from behind her. "We will start down as soon as I am done, Borus is probably waiting for you at the village."  
  
An uncomfortable silence settled over them then, neither knew what more to say to the other. Chris especially did not want to say anything that might spark his old hatred toward her. Though they parted on reasonably good terms 5 years ago She knew that her killing of his best friend has always been a sore spot between them. A part of her wander why he didn't kill her when he had the chance, though she supposed that is maybe because of his honor as a warrior that prevented such an action.  
  
"I am done, we can go now." Hugos' voice broke her out of her reverie.  
  
"Lead the way, Hugo." Curtly she replied.  
  
"Well I hope you are a good climber." Hugo said, leading her to the side of the cliff, "Because it is quite a long way down."  
  
"We have to climb down this?" Chris asked, mentally frowning at the daunting task ahead of her. She has never been a good climber, never having the actual need to climb. Not that could she have done it normally since she spent most of her time in armor that would make it too difficult to climb. "You carried me all the way up?"  
  
"Yeah." Hugo said nonchalantly, moving forward to check for the easiest way down. Chris' hand on his arm stopped him though and he quickly turned around to see if there are any problems.  
  
"I know I haven't said this although I probably should have said it earlier." She said sincerely, looking at him straight in the eye, gray eyes locking gaze with emerald green. "Thank you, for saving my life."  
  
"It ..it was nothing." He quickly said, spinning away from her. " Now lets get down from here, Beecham is probably worried."  
  
"Yes let us make haste, I wish to talk to Borus about what happened."  
  
"Are you up to this? If you don't feel well I can still. carry you down." Hugo said with a touch of what seemed like uncertainty in his voice.  
  
"Do not worry yourself," Chris said in a firm voice, "I will be able to handle myself just fine."  
  
"Alright,"  
  
Slowly they began their descend down the cliff with Hugo leading the way. With each step he took, Hugo carefully tested out the grips and footholds to make certain that they are secure. Though they made steady progress downward, by about the half way mark, Chris felt that maybe she should have taken on Hugo's offer to carry her down after all. No matter how embarrassing that would feel to be carried down like an invalid. It isn't that she is out of shape and the exertion is wearing her out, in fact she pride herself in keeping in top shape at all time. It is just that mountain climbing requires a different type of focus that she is not familiar with. It seemed that at any moment she might slip or that the rock under her will give out and plunge her to her death. Yet it is too late to do anything now, so she gritted her teeth and continued on. Thankfully no mishap occurred during their climb, and when she finally landed her feet on the solid ground she secretly gave a sigh of relieve at the fact that this ordeal is finally over with.  
  
The first thing Chris saw after she landed was Hugos' griffon standing up from where it looked like it was resting and strode to Hugo leisurely, giving a loud "Kueee" in greeting.  
  
"Heya Fubar," Hugo gave Fubar an affectionate pet " I hope you don't mind giving Chris a ride back to the village."  
  
"Kueeeee" Fubar gave a loud shriek in reply, as if saying that he wouldn't mind that at all.  
  
"Great, Chris you can ride on Fubar here and I'll ride on Storm over there." Hugo said pointing to his mount that was tied to a tree. " I figure Fubar would be easier for you since I don't actually use a rein like you Zexens."  
  
"How do you ride him?" Chris asked, having never done something like this before, she is a bit nervous of riding the griffon.  
  
"Well you sit on his back like this." Hugo said, demonstrating how to ride Fubar as he hops on the griffons back. "You then wrap your arm around his neck, that is all you need to do since Fubar can go back to the village on his own."  
  
"Very well, I understand." Chris replied then mounted Fubar as shown and wrapped her arms around the Griffons neck.  
  
Hugo gave Chris a nod, indicating to her that she has done it correctly, and then untied Storm from the tree and began to ride toward the Karaya Village.  
  
By the time they arrived at the village it was just past noon. As Chris approached the village, she felt some apprehension about entering. After all, the last time she was here she commanded the knights to burn down this place. Albeit it was a desperate bid to save her own man from being slaughtered, yet she knew that many here would harbor deep hatred for what she have done. Briefly she spared a glance at Hugo dismounting and wondered if he could be counted as one of them.  
  
Hugo led Chris into the village moving so that they are out of most peoples' way. Thankfully, that all of them were too busy with what appeared to be preparations for a festival to notice them. After a few turns they stopped at a simple hut and Hugo promptly opened the flap and they both walked. Inside the hut, Chris was surprised to see that the old warrior, Beecham and her knight, Borus sitting across from each other and apparently trying to stare each other down with the force of their glares.  
  
"Now for the thousandth time, just tell me where they went!." Borus began, frustration evident in his voice.  
  
"And I keep on telling you, Young man, that it would be better for you to wait here till they return." Beecham replied sternly.  
  
"Um we are back?" Hugo interrupted suddenly.  
  
"Milady!" Borus exclaimed, quickly turning around to face them. "It is good to see that you are well again, milady."  
  
"Thank you Borus, I understand that I have you to thank for saving my life as well."  
  
"It was nothing Milady," Borus said, somewhat embarrassed "I was only doing my duty."  
  
"It appears that you were successful, Hugo." Beecham said in a tone of approval. " A job well done, I myself have doubts whether it would be possible to save the young Zexen. But it appears that you once again surprised this old man."  
  
"Thank you Beecham." Hugo said, slightly embarrassed at the praise. " I just did the best I can that is all."  
  
"Now then, Borus I would like you to explain to me what happened that night. I have some recollections. Yet I fear that I may not be aware of the entirety of the situation."  
  
"Certainly milady." Borus then began his recounting of what had happened the night when Chris was attacked. Chris listens thoughtfully to Borus' tale and when he was done she asked him a question that has been bothering her.  
  
"What happened to Louis?"  
  
"Roland found him knocked out and stuffed in kitchen storage just before I left," Borus replied. "Do not worry, milady he should be fine."  
  
"That is good to hear," Chris said, relieved that nothing had happened to her squire.  
  
"This certainly bodes ill," Beecham said thoughtfully, stroking his graying beard, "Judging from all the indications, and if the Zexen council did send the assassin. Then most likely they are aiming to."  
  
"Start a war with grassland." Hugo finished for him, "more specifically, Karaya.."  
  
"Indeed, that does seem to be the case." Beecham said solemnly.  
  
"Wait a minute, I know that the council might be difficult sometimes," Chris stated " But I do not think that they would go seeking wars over nothing."  
  
"Regardless of their intentions, " Beecham said, "once they were made to believe that you were killed by a Karayan then for certain that the public will demand retribution. So even if the Zexen council had nothing to do with this incident, whoever is behind all this has a vast interest in starting a war."  
  
"Yes, so the problem now is what should we do with this," Hugo nodded in agreement with Beechams' analysis, "Beecham, I need you to send messengers to the rest of the grassland clans. Tell them of the current situation and arrange for a clan chiefs meeting 4 days from now."  
  
"You are not really thinking about open war are you?" Chris asked worriedly.  
  
"We would of course work toward peaceful resolutions. However, it is my duty to defend Karaya interest should anyone threatens it." Hugo said, locking gaze with Chris.  
  
" I understand, but I would also like you to know that I will also do my duty to my country." Chris said, her voice full of unwavering determination.  
  
"Good, then we have an understanding." Hugo nodded as if expecting such a response. "Now that is done. Beecham if you could take care of the messengers and I'll take care of the lodgings for our guests."  
  
"Where are you going to put them?" Beecham asked.  
  
"They can stay at my place, and I'll just go back to my old place with my mother. It's empty now anyways, seeing that she is away." Hugo replied. "I'll be back to go over the last detail of tonights' festival."  
  
"Very well."  
  
"Come on." Hugo led Chris and Borus out of Beecham's house and after a short walk arrived at a somewhat smaller hut.  
  
"Wait here," He told the 2 Zexen knights and then went into the back by himself. After a short while he came back out with a bag what looked like a sac full of clothes.  
  
"Make yourself comfortable," He said, " Oh and I would like to invite both of you to join our little festivities tonight."  
  
"I don't know if we should ,"Chris hesitated. "It is your festival and we are just outsider. Besides that given Borus and my posit."  
  
"You know, it is considered quite rude to refuse an invitation to a formal occasion issued by your host, Silver Maiden."  
  
"I do not need you to tell me what is appropriate behavior or not." Chris said, looking irritated at both being lectured at and the use of that particular nickname of hers, gave Hugo a heated glare.  
  
"Well," Hugo laughed. "I remember that being much more impressive when you were taller."  
  
For a moment she gaped and then She too had a large grin on her face. "Very well Flame Champion, I accept your invitation."  
  
"Good, if you have any problem, I'll be at Beechams, feel free to make yourself at home. I'll see you later then Chris." Hugo said, walking off.  
  
"After you milady." Borus Said, opening the door for Chris.  
  
Inside they found a smaller but a more furnished hut than Beechams. The decorations are a bizarre mix of different style of work. The paintings hung on the wall seemed to be Zexen in origin while some of the small figurines have a Calerian feel to them. In one corner there is a metal tub, and seeing that made Chris became aware of how grimy she currently feels.  
  
"Borus, would you mind going outside for a second? I wish to wash off all these grime first."  
  
"Certainly milady, you might want to have these as well." Borus said, handing Chris a leather bag and her sword, Ervich. "We, packed some spare change of cloth for you. I hope you don't mind"  
  
"No thank you, that was very thoughtful."  
  
"You welcome milady, now by your leave." Borus bowed and then walked out of the hut to give Chris some privacy.  
  
She was pleased to find that her old ensemble of green jacket white shirt and black pants that she wore to the grasslands five years ago was part of the package. After she filled the tub with waters from the jugs in the back, she quickly took a bath in the tub to clean herself up. Although the water is cold, the rising summer heat made it a rather refreshing experience. Afterwards, she putted on her green jacket ensemble and emptied out the tub in the back, where She found Borus dozing under a tree. She resolved to herself not to disturb the sleeping knight and went back into the hut to find something to do. She found several book lying around the hut in disarray one book though caught her eye and she remembered it as an old book from Eikes library. It was more of history book than anything else, containing detail accounts of the events surrounding the Dunan Unifacation War. Chris found herself a nice place to sit down and set out to finish reading this book.  
  
" Lady Chris?" She was so absorbed in reading that she failed to remember the time and was surprised to find Beecham standing at the door way.  
  
"Master Beecham," Chris closed her book and stood up to greet the man. "Can I help you?"  
  
"Yes, the festival has started, would you join us for this little occasion?"  
  
"Certainly Master Beecham, I have already told Hugo that I would." Chris said, " I'll go get Borus right now."  
  
" I am afraid I won't be going my lady." Borus said from behind Beecham. "I would feel awkward if I do. Besides, there might be people who could recognize me." His voice trailed off and Chris understood his implications. He is afraid of running people in who might recognize him as the Zexen knight who burnt this village down just five years ago.  
  
" If that is your choice, however would not the same apply to me as well." Chris asked Beecham.  
  
" Unlikely, since most here have not met you in person before. Even then they saw you from a distance when you were in armor." Beecham replied. "You look much different now so I doubt any here would recognize you. "  
  
" Very well, lead the way master Beecham."  
  
Beecham led her to the large clearing in the center of the village where a large crowd has gathered around a large bonfire. All around the large fire people sat on the ground and at tables that were placed in a spherical formation extending outward. Near the bonfire various animals: wild boars, rabbits, chickens were set up to be cooked over the raging flame. As Chris got near she could hear Hugo addressing his people in a loud voice.  
  
".....Let the spirits join us in this celebration of joy and remembrance. May the spirits be pleased with our actions so that they will continue to watch over us and provide us with good fortune!" He said raising his goblet towards the sky in a gesture of offering and then emptying the content on the ground before him. With that people all around her broke into a loud cheer and the festival started in earnest.  
  
Beecham placed her at one of the empty tables and then excused himself to be with his own family. Chris watched in interest as foods were placed on large plate and then passed around so that each may take his own share of the food. When it was her turn she took some meat, vegetables and fruits. The sweet aroma of the foods made her realize exactly how hungry she actually is and she quickly dug into her food with fervor. The sun began to set and soon the only light sources are the large bonfire and several torches placed around the large clearing.  
  
A steady drumbeat began to boom out accompanied by music from instruments that Chris can't make out. Very soon people, mostly teenagers Chris noted, began to dance around the bonfire, moving counter clockwise and humming along to the music.  
  
"Excuse me miss, are you Zexen by any chance?"  
  
Chris looked up at the speaker and found 2 Karayan girls about fourteen years of age standing before her. One has long back hair tied into 2 ponytails while the other have short brown hair.  
  
"Yes I am, may I help you?"  
  
"Well my friend here wanted to know if you are a merchant." The shorthaired one asked.  
  
"I am afraid not, I am.. Ummmm.. merely a traveler who is staying here for a short while." Chris replied, hoping that they wont get suspicious. Normally she wouldn't consider lying like that. Yet due to her current situation she decided she need to be careful about telling people who she actually is.  
  
"Ah that is too bad then, because my friend here really like the trinkets that you zexen made." The shorthaired one gave a shake of her head as if saying that can't be helped. "By the way my name is Thermira and this is Dilah."  
  
"Pleased to meet you, my name is... um. Christina." She really hated using that name but given the circumstances, people might not as readily connect that name with the Zexen captain 'Lady Chris".  
  
"Well nice to meet you too." The one named Thermira replied. "How long are you going to stay here?"  
  
"Several days I hope, I am waiting to hear from a friend."  
  
"Well I hope you have a nice stay." Thermira frowned and leaned forward. "By the way if a boy name Ranir asks you to dance, please say no. He is such a pig. Well then, see you later and have a nice time tonight."  
  
With that the two girls bolted off leaving a very confused Chris wondering what just happened. Her question was answered though when a young Karayan male walked up to her and introduced himself as Ranir and then asked her to dance with him.  
  
'Oh goddess, this is going to be a long night.' Chris thought to herself.  
  
**************************************************************************** *******  
  
"Well that should be all then."  
  
Hugo said, finishing up his discussion with one of the villagers about the sheep herds. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see yet another Karayan male walked dejectedly away from Chris' table. Inwardly he grinned to himself, understanding full well how frustrated she must feel right now. He himself has been asked several times in the past by girls to dance with them. This year though it seemed that his status as the acting chief has offered some immunity to such trouble.  
  
"Hugo can I speak to you for a second?"  
  
He looked back toward the source of the voice to see a stocky woman with dark brown hair waiting to speak with him.  
  
"Certainly Luce." He replied getting up. They moved away from the festivities and soon they are alone.  
  
"Well?" He asked once they are along.  
  
"Its about that zexen woman, Chris Lightfellow. She is here in the village isn't she, in fact that silver haired woman at the festival was she wasn't it?" She asked tightly  
  
Slowly Hugo considered her word. "Yes she was, she is here as a guest"  
  
"Then that is all there is need to know." Luce said in a tight voice and then began to walk away.  
  
"I thought you made peace with Lulus' death already." Hugo asked.  
  
" I did, but the question is .did you?"  
  
To that, Hugo could not answer.  
  
**************************************************************************** *******  
  
Chris sighed to herself, She has long since lost count of how many invitations to dance she has turned down. Looking around She noticed Hugo returning to his table, gathered some food on a plate and then began to walk off. Curious, at the same time feeling the need to get away, Chris decided to follow after him. He walked slowly, with one hand holding a torch and another holding the plate, he walked on toward the back of the village. After a short walk they began to descend down a small hill, and at the bottom of the hill they arrived at what looked like some sort of graveyard.  
  
"Well I know how much you love the summer festival, Lulu so I decide to bring you some food. " Hugo said to one of the tombstone in particular, placing the plate in front of it. "I really hope wherever you are that you are getting good food. I remember how much you love the food."  
  
He knelt down and appeared to be giving a short prayer. Chris feel like she should say something, but she just can't find the proper words so instead she hid behind some bushes. She was surprised though when he called out to her.  
  
"Chris I know you are there, you can come out now."  
  
"Hugo, I think I told you before. I am sorry about what happened." Chris said, a sense of regret creeping into her voice.  
  
"Being sorry can not bring him back." Hugo said sadly.  
  
"Then what is it that you want? My life?"  
  
"I don't know!" He shouted conflict evident in his voice." Sometimes I feel that is what I should do, sometimes I feel that will mean absolute nothing."  
  
"Mostly though I blame myself, for breaking my promise to protect him." Hugo said, quieting down.  
  
"Now that is just foolish, Hugo. You should know that you can't blame yourself for this." Chris Said, looking straight at Hugo.  
  
"Don't call me foolish, Zexen" Hugo growled, "I failed my promise to protect him and that is that. It is nothing that you would understand."  
  
"I understand it more than you know, child. I have seen more battle, lost more comrade than you ever knew." Chris replied with a hint of anger in her voice.  
  
"Don't patronize me Chris." He said angrily, " I am not a child anymore."  
  
"Well you are acting foolish." Chris snapped at the young man in front of her.  
  
"You are calling me foolish?" Hugo snarled, "Well look at you Ms. high and mighty knight. For all your blabbering about duty to your country, look where did it get you? A poisoned blade. All you have done means nothing to them. You are just a tool to be used and discarded when it's inconvenient."  
  
Crack!  
  
Hugos' head snapped to the side from the force of Chris' slap and he stumbled back holding a hand to his reddening left cheek. For a moment Hugo looked at Chris in disbelief and then his eyes narrowed.  
  
" Is that it? If you are angry why don't you draw your sword and try to strike me down like you did to Lulu. You seemed quite efficient in killing for no reason."  
  
"Keep on pushing me and maybe I will, Karayan." Chris said coldly.  
  
"You can try Zexen, but you'll find I am no easy prey." Hugo replied darkly his stance had the feel of a blade waiting to be drawn.  
  
"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Beecham interrupted suddenly. "Hugo, I expected better from you, haven't you learned anything from your mother? And Lady Chris, need I remind you the proper behavior that one should have toward your host?"  
  
Embarrassed Hugo looked away while Chris just shook her sadly and then stormed back to where she and Borus are staying. She walked briskly into the hut, ignoring Borus' question about her time spent at the festival and then promptly made her cot and go to sleep.  
  
"I hate him." She growled softly to herself as she tried to get some semblance of rest.  
  
**************************************************************************** *******  
  
Hugo sat beside Lulu's grave, his back leaning on his friends' tombstone. His face obscured by his long bangs as he looked down on the ground. With one hand he still held his left cheek where Chris has left her impression. Beecham has long since been gone, telling him to think on what he has done.  
  
" She must hates me now." Hugo said quietly to no on in particular. "But that may be the best, considering who we are, and considering what may happen. It will be easier if we continue to hate each other."  
  
"Because then, there will be no reason to stop when we have to kill each other."  
  
Up next: Damian's plot unfolds, and can Chris and Hugo resolve their differences? Or will it end in bloodshed? 


	5. Pains of a Guilty Conscience

"...and that is when I jumped in front of Sasarai and blocked the axe for him with my trusty Eisha..." A man, about 40 years of age and wearing gray yellow tunic covered by black vest, boasted to the two ladies at his table while gesturing wildly with his hands.  
  
"Oh really? Wow? So you saved Bishop Sasarais' life then?" one of the woman gushed.  
  
Just then a woman with short black hair and a green tunic tied up to her chest entered the dining area of this small tavern, She took a look at the man boating to the 2 girls and rolled her eyes in exasperation. Walking to another table not far away from the wildly gesturing man, she promptly sat down and asked the three others that are already at the table.  
  
"He is not going at it again is he?" She asked those who are at the table.  
  
"Well you know how desperate he is when it comes to attention from the opposite sex." A man who seems to be in his early 50s, wearing a purple shirt with yellow embroidery, answered. "By now you shouldn't be surprised about him, Queen."  
  
Before Queen could reply though, another person at the table cut in suddenly. "I don't know, " a young woman, with brown skin and curly dark brown hair, said behind a cup full of soda." I think he is getting worse each day, what do you think Jaques?"  
  
Jaques, a man in his late 20s with spiky blonde hair white bandana around his forehead and a neon blue coat, blinked as he was suddenly the center of the attention of the other 3 people. " ...... He seems the same to me, Aila."  
  
"Bah, you just didn't notice." She said, shaking her head.  
  
Jaques merely shrugged and went back to drinking his milk.  
  
"So Joker, Where is the captain." The one named Queen asked the old man in front of her who is nursing a mug of ale.  
  
"He went off to buy some fruits." Joker replied, taking another sip from the mug.  
  
"He must really love those fruits if he always go off to buy those." Aila said, then blinked in confusion as those others gave her weird looks. "What?"  
  
"Aila, don't ever change." Queen said, putting a hand on the confused girls' shoulder.  
  
"Ah, alright?"  
  
"Hey Queen you are finally here, how is everyone doing today?" The man who were boasting said to the group as he walked towards them.  
  
"Ace, glad to see that you finally decided to join us." Queen said raising an eyebrow at the man, " what happened to the girls?"  
  
"Ah, They ummmm decided to leave when I told them I cant take them to see Sasarai." Ace lamented, while looking extremely uncomfortable at the subject.  
  
" Ha ha ha, guess they are smarter than they looked." Joker roared with laughter at Aces' plight.  
  
"Ah shut up Joker!" Ace shouted indignantly.  
  
"Ace Ace, when will you ever learn?" Queen said exasperatedly, shaking her head.  
  
"Probably never," Aila piped up helpfully.  
  
"Hey cut it out people!" Ace pleaded, throwing his hands down to his sides.  
  
"Captain." Jaques said quietly, and despite it being barely audible it grabbed everyones' attention immediately. As one they turned to the doorway where Jaques was facing and sure enough Geddoe, in his usual ensemble of black and gray complete with eye patch, walked in holding a bag of fruits in his left hand.  
  
"Hey boss."  
  
"Captain."  
  
"Captain Geddoe."  
  
The one eyed captain of the mercenary group nodded in acknowledgement and then found a seat to sit down. He turned his gaze around the table making sure that he had the attention of everyone before beginning.  
  
"I want everyone to pack up and be ready to travel by early tomorrow morning." He told his subordinates. "We have a new job to do."  
  
Queen gave her fellow comrades a concerned glance at the sudden news, before turning back her captain. "A new job? Where are we going?"  
  
"...Brass Castle."  
  
**************************************************************************** ***  
  
Suikoden 3 Fanfic Conflict from within ch5:  
Pains of a Guilty Conscience  
  
**************************************************************************** ***  
  
Chris woke to the sound of the chirping birds and noted that for the second day in a row that she has woke up much later than usual. Normally she woke up right at the crack of dawn, hence it is unusual for her to woke up when the sun is already high up in the sky. She attributed this to the aftereffect of being poisoned and the stress of the past day. Blearily she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and gave a small yawn. She gave her head a slight shake, reflecting on the past day. Now that she had time to calm down and think she could not believe now how badly she acted last night.  
  
'What was I doing threatening the boy?' She thought guiltily to herself, 'It's just that he made me so mad...'  
  
She still remembered those bitter words coming out of the Karayan man. Spoken so as if he did not understand the weight of those painful words that forced her to see things that she had refused to think about up until at that point.  
  
"Betrayal." She whispered to herself, the words feel bitter in her mouth. It is as if by speaking it she was tainted by the foulness of the act implied. If Salomes' guess was correct then yes she was betrayed, by one of those that she had sworn to protect in fact. Although she tried to counsel herself that her primary duty was to the people not the council, the hurt still remained. As a solider she had learned long ago to distance herself from her emotions, for such a thing provides distraction on the field of battle. One could not afford to feel compassionate towards the enemy she is striking down, for a moment of hesitation could mean life or death. When she first learned of the councils' betrayal, she had treated it as facing another enemy, taking all the hurt feelings and anger towards them and walling it all away deep within her. However, Hugos words has struck a cord of truth in her, tearing away the walls that she had used to shield herself. As a result, all the angers and pains that she had felt at the act had rushed out in a torrent that overwhelmed her. Before she realized it, she had redirected it all against the Karayan. Although Hugos' attitude did not help at all, she realized that she is largely at fault for last nights situation as well. All in all, it was one messy situation, one that she wished had never happened. Yet, moping about it all day would not rectify the situation.  
  
'I better go apologize to him' she thought to herself.  
  
She was glad that Borus is not here right now. Though that fact did not surprise her at all, all the knights are early risers and she supposed that Borus must have left as not to disturb her sleep. She quickly gave herself a wash over and get ready in a blue outfit that is similar to the one that she wore yesterday.  
  
Since she is unfamiliar with the village she decided to ask Beecham if he knows where Hugo is. She walked to the old warriors' hut and asked if he knows Hugos' where about.  
  
" Hugo? Lady Chris?" Beecham replied," He went off to hunt this morning, I do not know when he will be back"  
  
"That is unfortunate." Chris said, feeling disappointed, " If you could tell him that I wish to speak with him when he gets back?"  
  
"Certainly." The old warrior replied.  
  
Disappointed, she decided to head back to where she is staying and found that Borus had returned while she was away.  
  
"Milady," The knight greeted her as she came in and stood up from where he was sitting in respect.  
  
"Borus, you are back." She greeted.  
  
"When I woke up you were still asleep milady." Borus replied, " So I went out for a walk out of the village."  
  
Though he tried to keep a neutral tone, Chris could sense something off about the knight. Then all of a sudden, she realized what is bothering him. "Coming back to Karaya made you feel uncomfortable didn't it?" She asked him worriedly.  
  
"In some ways milady." The blonde knight replied, " What happened here 5 years ago should never have happened. I was careless in my judgment and acted in anger."  
  
"Perhaps my discomfort now is in some way a punishment for my failure." Borus continued, his tone full of regret of what he has done. "A very lenient sentence if you ask me."  
  
"That is enough Borus. " Chris said, closing her eyes and shook her head. " Although you might have erred in your judgment, given the circumstance you are not entirely at blame. You regretted your decision and that is good, but there are no need to further dwell on something that you could not change now."  
  
"I know." Borus replied thoughtfully. "Perhaps I was just being foolish to think of it as such."  
  
"Good," She nodded, glad that he is on the right track, "Now then, did Salome said when he is going to contact us?"  
  
"No, milady," Borus shrugged as if saying he is unsure of that as well," though under the dire circumstance we were in I do not think even he knows when he will be able to send us a message. I imagine soon though because everyone would want to know how you are faring."  
  
"Let us hope so, " She sighed, "I feel so helpless like this."  
  
"I know the feeling." He said sympathetically. "However I also trust Salomes' judgment when he said that you will be safer staying here."  
  
"I understand your concern, I suppose this is the best course of action for now." Chris said, shaking her head as if clearing away the depressing thoughts. "Well enough of these things that we can do little about either way. What do you think of Louis chance of passing the knighthood exam, Borus?"  
  
"Well...."  
  
The 2 knights then talked about different things that were happening in the knighthood, idle talks that avoided the sensitive subjects. Both of them have things that they rather not talk about and their conversations steadfastly avoided those subjects. They talked until Beecham brought them their lunch. Chris then spent the rest of the day reading and sparring with Borus. She was very disappointed in that by the end of the day Hugo still haven't showed up and she resolved to go find Hugo again the next morning.  
  
However, when Beecham told her that Hugo had once again gone out the next morning, Chris started to feel suspicious about the entire situation. She was unable to continue her questioning though as Beecham quickly excused himself, claiming to have prior duties. After she returned to the hut, she began reading again and at lunch ate the leftovers from yesterday. In the afternoon, she was visited by the two girls that she had met during the festival.  
  
"Hello Christina!" Thermira called out energetically as she entered the hut. "We are here to see how you are doing."  
  
Surprised Chris putted down the book she had been reading and stood up to greet her visitors.  
  
"Good day Thermira, Dilah." Chris said to the 2 girls.  
  
"We found out where you are staying by asking around, you are so lucky!" Thermira exclaimed.  
  
"Pardon?" Chris asked in confusion at what the younger girl is saying.  
  
"Well you get to stay at Hugos' place," Thermira said dreamily "He is so handsome and brave and one day he will be the chief you know."  
  
"It is not what you think." Chris said shaking her head for emphasis and throwing up both of her hands at shoulder height palms up. "He moved back to his mothers house and just let us use his house for the duration of our stay."  
  
"Well he must really want to impress you to do that for you." Thermira continued on seeming oblivious to Chris' objection. " Maybe he meant to pick you as his bride."  
  
"WHAT!?" Chris shouted in an incredulous tone, her face flushed with embarrassment.  
  
"WHAT!?" Borus shouted from behind Chris his voice sounds indignant at the suggestion.  
  
"Why hello there, didn't se.." Thermira never got to finish her sentence as Dilah suddenly threw her self at Borus, belt knife drawn and teeth bared in a snarl. The suddenness of the attack surprised Borus and he was forced to take several steps back to avoid the wild slashes from the berserk girl.  
  
Dilah growled at her lack of success and tried to lunge at Borus with a stab to his chest, but by that time he had already overcame the initial shock and with a precise strike from his scabbard knocked the knife away from the enraged girl. In one smooth motion he draws his own sword and holds the tip blade against her neck, stopping her dead in her track.  
  
"What are you waiting for?" The girl bits out though her voice is barely audible." Kill me like you killed my father."  
  
Borus' eyes widen in surprise and though it was barely noticeable, Chris saw that Borus' blade wavered in uncertainty for a second.  
  
"What is going on Dilah?" The normally energetic girl asked with fear evident in her voice.  
  
"I saw him," The girls' reply was quiet but the hate is clear in her voice, "they came on horses, burning our village. My father tried to fight back but HE killed him."  
  
Chris opened her mouth as if to say something, but then just shook her head. She knew that Borus must deal with this problem on his own.  
  
Borus gave out a sigh and pulled back his sword, sheathing it. "I don't suppose an apology will mean anything. But for what it is worth, I sincerely regret doing what I did that night.  
  
Dilah moved as if to grab her knife but Thermiras' hand on her shoulder stopped her dead in her track.  
  
"Don't Dilah, it is useless. " Thermira said in a dark voice filled with contempt. "Christina, no Lady Chris of the Zexen knights, I suppose that is who you are?"  
  
Grimly Chris nodded in confirmation.  
  
"I do not know why you have come here, Lady Chris." She continued in that same tone of voice, "But be assured that we wont stand for murderer like you here."  
  
With that she led her friend out by the hand, not bothering to say another word.  
  
"I am sorry milady, for the troubles that I caused." Borus said once the two girls left.  
  
"Do not worry about it Borus, such is to be expected. It is just one of the many consequences of our actions as knights. " She sighed. " I suppose that is one more thing I need to talk to Hugo about, certainly he would be able to prevent further trouble from the villagers."  
  
"I hope so milady."  
  
**************************************************************************** ******* Yet, it was the same on the third day. Chris went to Beecham only to be told that once again Hugo went out on village business, this time inspecting irrigation of a nearby pasture, and could return anytime.  
  
"Is Hugo purposely avoiding me Master Beecham?" Chris asked the age warrior her tone indicated that she was irritated.  
  
" That should be something between you and Hugo, Lady Chris."  
  
"I understand, sorry to bother you, Master Beecham." She said, feeling uncomfortable at situation.  
  
She was surprised to see a large crowd surrounding the hut where she is staying. The crowd, consisted of mostly woman and children, glared hostilely at the blonde haired knight standing at the doorway.  
  
"Borus!" She shouted, dashing past the ring of Karayans and ran to the knight. "What is going on?"  
  
"Milady," Borus said worriedly " They came soon after you left."  
  
"Murderer!"  
  
"Get out of our village!"  
  
"Die Zexen Scum!"  
  
The last shout was accompanied by a rock thrown at Borus' head, which he steps backward to avoid. Soon a hail of rock was thrown at the two knights, which the two barely avoided. One of the rock streaked with unerring at Chris' head and would have struck her if someone didn't step in front of her and caught the rock with his open palm. The hail of rock ceased immediately as the crowd saw who is now standing before the Zexens.  
  
"Everyone, stop!" Hugo shouted to the crowd, "I understand your frustration, however these people came on official business as guests to the village. As the acting clan chief it is my duty to ensure that no harm befalls them. So I must ask each and everyone of you to leave them alone for the duration of their stay."  
  
"But Chief Hugo! These people are.."  
  
"No buts Thermira, you may challenge my decision when my mother returns. However it is your responsibility right now not to let your hatred interfere with the greater good of the village." Hugo said sternly, looking straight at the younger girl. Then his feature softens and he continues in a more gentle voice. "We all lost someone close to us, but please understand what I am asking you to do."  
  
The young girl looked down for a moment as if in thought and then walked away without another word. The rest of the crowd followed in suit, dispersing slowly in all directions and soon it was just Hugo and the two Zexen that remained in front of the hut.  
  
"Sir Hugo I thank you for your assistance." Borus said formally to the Karayan.  
  
"There are no need for thanks," Hugo said, turning around to face the knight. "As I said it was my responsibility as the host to ensure that no harm befalls you."  
  
For a moment Chris just stood there studying the Karayan, her expression unreadable. "I thought you were suppose to be at this inspection?" She finally asked in a bland tone.  
  
" I came back early." Hugo replied, matching her tone perfectly. For a moment he hesitated, seemingly indecisive, then he spun around and began to walk away.  
  
"Are you still running away?" Her words stopped Hugo cold in his tracks and he let out a deep breath.  
  
"Meet me tonight at the place where we last saw each other." he said in that same bland tone, then without another word he walked away from the two.  
  
"Milady?" Borus looked at Chris questioningly.  
  
"It is nothing to be worried about Borus, I just need to talk to him that is all." Chris replied distractedly.  
  
"I'll come with you tonight then." Borus suggested in a tight voice.  
  
"No," Chris interjected. " I need to talk with him alone."  
  
"But..." Borus tried to protest but was interrupted by Chris.  
  
"Please Borus."  
  
"Alright," the blonde knight said resignedly, unable to argue with his captain.  
  
**************************************************************************** *******  
  
By the time Chris got there Hugo was already waiting, though not at the gravesite. She found him sitting below a tree nearby, leaning against the trunk and staring up at the stars. For the first time since meeting him again she realized just exactly how much he had changed. Under the dim light she could tell the physical change, his face has became leaner angled into maturity, gone was the boyish roundness that was there 5 years ago. He wore his hair long, tied back into a ponytail that reached his waist. The More startling change though was his expression. It has become more serious and with a focus that she has never seen on him before. The overall effect, and she had to admit that Thermira was right, he does look very handsome and far more mature than she remembered. He seemed not to notice as she approached wordlessly she sat down on the grass a few feet away from him.  
  
"Thank you for what you did earlier." She decided it was much safer to start there.  
  
"Like I said it was my responsibility." Hugo replied still looking up at the star.  
  
"Well thank you anyways." She said, " I would also like to apologize for my actions a few nights ago."  
  
"What for? there is no need to apologize, it was my fault. I was careless with what I said. So it was I who should have been apologizing." He sighed looking away, "I knew I shouldn't have said that about you but it is just that..."  
  
"Just what?" She asked, puzzled.  
  
"Have you ever dreamt of those you knew?" Hugo asked suddenly, "Lulu appears in my dream a lot these days. Sometimes he begs me to avenge him, sometimes he yelled at me, saying how I failed him, how I couldn't protect him."  
  
"I understand," Chris said sadly, closing her eyes as if remembering." I have those dreams too.. your friend Lulu, Lanchet, Galahad.. and countless others that I failed and killed. The voices of the dead haunting the living."  
  
"How do you live with that?" Hugo asked her softly, at the same time amazed at the revelation.  
  
"By reminding yourself what you are fighting for, what your goals are." Chris said, looking toward the distance star.  
  
"Does it work?" the young Karayan asked.  
  
"No," She replied" But it keeps the guilt from swallowing you whole though,"  
  
"I see." Hugo said solemnly, "Well, honor states that I should avenge the death of my friend. Yet duty states that I should not take any action against you because of who you are."  
  
"And what is it that you want then" Chris asked him.  
  
"Does that matter?" Hugo asked in return.  
  
"No I suppose not, " Chris closed her eyes and shook her head. "If it was another though you probably would not have that problem. Our responsibility and position sets us apart from others, I suppose.  
  
"We are who we are. Duty and honor binds us and chains us." Hugo said sadly. "Will we ever be rid of it?"  
  
"Not now but one day." Chris said hopefully looking up at the field of star. "One day we will be free."  
  
"That will be nice." Hugo said with equal fervor yet there was also a slight skepticism" By the way, would you come with me to the clan chief meeting tomorrow? Your insight will certainly help. Furthermore what we are discussing will probably concern you as well."  
  
"Gladly, atleast that way it will feel like I am actually doing something useful." She commented, reflecting on what she felt for the past 2 days.  
  
"You know, if war comes between Zexen and Grasslands, we will be enemies." Hugo said quietly.  
  
"I know, but that will make things easier for you then wouldn't it?" Chris replied in an almost idle voice "Since you would not need to worry about deciding between honor and duty."  
  
"Perhaps so, but I don't look forward it."  
  
"Neither do I."  
  
A comfortable silence settled in between them. Feeling relaxed they leaned back and enjoy the warm weather, the cooling breeze, as well as field of stars above. Neither felt the necessity to say more, on some level they felt that they have reached an understanding, so neither said a word more but instead leaned back to enjoy the warm weather, the beautiful stars and each other's company.  
  
If only things could last...  
  
Up next: With Damian plotting War seems imminent. What will become of Grassland and Zexen? 


	6. Rising Tide

Author rant: Thank you all who has reviewed. Your inputs has really helped me improve my work. Thanks a lot and keep on Reviewing!  
  
Salome walked briskly down the streets of Brass Castle, the setting sun cast long shadow behind him as he navigated the street with practiced ease. He turned around a corner and walked into a small tavern. He have often visited this place in the past namely because he found it easy to collect his thoughts here. The soft music playing in the background plus the only source of illumination of this dimly lit room are small candles placed on the various tables, have often helped him find an inner focus that is rarely found in any other place of the otherwise busy castle. His purpose here today though was not to think but something else, normally at this time the place would have just started to opening up. Hence normally there would not be any patrons at this hour. Yet when Salome walked in, someone was already there at one of the tables. Salome nodded to the man waiting for him and sat down at the table across from him.  
  
"Good you are here, I thought that I might not catch you before you leave for Vinay del Zexay." The man said, his one eye studied Salome intently.  
  
"I am sorry Geddoe, the summon from the council came suddenly and I was too busy preparing. It was some time before I actually received your message." Salome said, looking apologetic for his lateness. "It has certainly been a while hasn't it? When did you arrive at Brass Castle?"  
  
"Just this morning." Geddoe replied, taking a sip from the cup of ale he is holding with his gloved hand. " When are you leaving for Vinay?"  
  
"In an hour," Salome said as he motions the waitress to bring him some ale "We will ride hard into the night and arrive late at Vinay so that I will be ready for the early morning session with the council."  
  
"Then we do not have much time then, I assume you didn't call me all the way from Caleria just to share a few drinks?" Geddoe said, his gaze piercing as he studied Salome carefully as if trying to read the knights' mind.  
  
"If only that were so, I am sorry we could not meet under better circumstances." Salome sighed," Geddoe, I need your help."  
  
"On what?" The one eyed mercenary asked.  
  
"Have you heard about what has been going on lately?" Salome asked his friend as the waitress returned with his ale.  
  
"If you mean the death of Lady Chris, then yes." Geddoe waited until the waitress was out of earshot before replying.  
  
"What do you think of it?" Salome asked again, his eyes locking on with Geddoes' one good eye.  
  
"What happened to Lady Chris?" Geddoe said his full attention focused on Salome. "You and I both know how hard it is to kill a true rune holder, she could not have died out of disease."  
  
"Yet she was almost killed, and as far as I know she may very well be dead already." Salome said, looking down into his own cup. " No I must not think of that, such negativity will just make things worst. By goddess's grace, she should be fine."  
  
"Please explain." Geddoe said, shaking his head and thoroughly confused by the situation.  
  
Salome take a good glance around, making sure that no one will be able to over hear this. He then continued in a low voice. "She was attacked and poisoned. Her assailant used a Karayan blade and a Karayan poison. Though we managed to drive off the assailant, the poison was killing her. So Borus took her to Karaya to seek help."  
  
"Poisoned? That should not be a problem considering she bears the true water rune." Geddoe asked Salome.  
  
"Whoever tried to kill her obviously has taken it into consideration." Salome said, shaking his head. "She could not heal herself with the water rune. It seems that its power was somehow nullified, or suppressed."  
  
"What is it that you want me do then?" Geddoe said.  
  
"Although I am not sure at the time when she was attacked." Salome said with a hint of anger in his voice. "Now I am certain that it has to be one of the council. You see, since the event of five years ago I have felt the need to keep a tap on the going on of council members."  
  
"So you hired people to spy on them." Geddoe finished it for Salome.  
  
"Yes, servants who manages to pass down valuable information now and then of their intentions." Salome said, pulling out a pile of sheets from a hidden pocket within his cloth. "Unfortunately I received the information too late to prevent the attempt, however from the bits and pieces conversation they reported. I am certain that it has to be one of the council who is behind this."  
  
"However these are potentially very dangerous people we are dealing with, and I could not in my good conscious ask them to risk their lives to investigate this." Salome continued.  
  
"So you want me to investigate them for you." Geddoe stated, having guessed what Salome is asking of him.  
  
"That is correct, I understand your capabilities, Geddoe. This task should not be too difficult for you. Further more you are the bearer of the true lighting rune, so this should not pose too much of a danger for you." Salome added.  
  
"Don't be too sure of that." Geddoe said shaking his head. "We will head to Vinay Del Zexay tomorrow morning and start the investigation though."  
  
"I have faith in you, Geddoe." Salome said while handing the sheets. " Here are all the information that I have thus far collected and a list of council members and all the info on them I can gather. You should start with the first councilor though, he seemed the most suspicious."  
  
"I'll keep that in mind." Geddoe replied.  
  
"Well, I should get going now, people are still waiting for me." Salome said, finishing up the ale that he had been sipping and got up.  
  
"Good Luck Salome."  
  
"Thank you old friend, we both will need all the luck we can get."  
  
**************************************************************************** ***  
  
Suikoden 3 Fanfic Conflict from within ch6:  
Rising Tide  
  
**************************************************************************** ***  
  
With a torch burning brightly to light his way, Borus ran across the grasslands outside the Karayan village. He looked around worriedly, seemingly in search of something.  
  
"Where could they have gone to?" He muttered to himself in frustration.  
  
"Borus?" A voice said behind him.  
  
Surprised, he spun around and drawn his sword halfway out before he realized who it was and sheathed his sword once again.  
  
"Sir Hugo." Borus asked in a respectful tone. "Where is Lady Chris."  
  
"She fell asleep back there." Hugo said pointing back where he came from. " I was dozing off myself but I saw the lights from you torch so I came to investigate."  
  
"I see." Borus nodded.  
  
"Well since you are here, I'll leave her to your care then." Hugo said, walking away.  
  
"Wait! I would like to know what are your intentions toward Lady Chris." Borus shouted to the young Karayan.  
  
Hugo stopped and then looked down to the ground, with a sigh he replied." Only if I knew myself."  
  
"If you are looking for vengeance then know that it was I who burned down your village despite Lady Chris' orders." Borus announced tensely to Hugo.  
  
"It is noble of you to try to protect your captain in such a manner." Hugo said shaking his head "However the debt between us is of a much more personal matter."  
  
"I understand." Borus said looking straight at Hugo, his voice full of determination "However you should know that I will do anything to protect my captain, even if it means fighting you and even if it's at the cost of my life."  
  
"I would expect no less." Hugo replied turning around to look at Borus straight in the eyes. "Yet I can promise this of you, on my honor as a Karayan that as long as you remain as guests to this village I will not to do any harm to you or your captain, Lady Chris Lightfellow and I also swear on my honor to protect you both to the best of my abilities. So you have nothing to fear from me right now."  
  
With that said Hugo spun around and briskly walked away, leaving Borus standing alone in the darkness pondering on what he have just been told.  
  
**************************************************************************** ******  
  
"..Chris, Lady Chris."  
  
Slowly Chris opened her eyes at the sound of her name being called, the glare of torchlight made her flinch back and she shielded her eyes with her hand till they slowly adjusted to the light. As her eyes regained their focus, she could make out a familiar blonde man standing over her with a burning torch.  
  
"What is it Borus?" Chris asked while rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.  
  
"Nothing milady, I was worried when you didn't come back so I came to find you." Borus replied studying his captain carefully. "Did something happened betw. Is something wrong?" "Wrong? Nothing is wrong what makes you think that? The weather was just too comfortable I guess I just dozed off. " Chris said, stretching out the kinks in her back. "If I made you worried, I apologize Borus."  
  
"You do not have to milady, though if you are tired, we should head back to our own hut." Borus suggested.  
  
"You are right," Chris replied then looked around. " Where is Hugo?"  
  
"He. um left when I got here." Borus said, a slight hesitation in his voice.  
  
For a moment Chris thought of asking what happened to cause Borus look uncomfortable, but thought better of it. Instead she began walking toward the hut. " Let's head back Borus, we can talk on the way. I have something to ask of you."  
  
"Alright milady." He answered, falling in step beside her.  
  
"Borus, I will accompany Hugo to the clan chief meeting tomorrow." Chris said, glancing sideway at him. "However, I have to ask you to head back to Brass Castle instead."  
  
"But Milady! I can't leave you alone in the grasslands!." Borus exclaimed, his face shows his shock at Chris' request." It would not be safe!"  
  
"It won't be as dangerous as you think," Chris said, holding out a hand to placate the emotional knight. " I am fully capable of defending myself. Furthermore I will hardly be alone, the Karayans and other clan chiefs will be with me."  
  
"By Karayan you mean Hugo." Borus said tensely, looking away into the night.  
  
"He knows his duty and I know mine," Chris looked down at the ground and said with a hint of sadness. "With two true runes at this meeting our enemy will think twice before trying anything."  
  
"I suppose I should know my duty as well and follow the order of my captain then." Borus said almost bitterly.  
  
"You know I don't mean it like that Borus." Chris sighed shaking her head. "It's been days and we yet to hear from Salome, we need to let him know that I am alright. I am sure they are worried about me. Furthermore I am worried about Salome as well. From the encounter on plain Amur that you told me about they probably know that I am still alive. We do not know what our enemy is capable of and Salome must be informed of these matters. Therefore it's imperative for you to return to Brass Castle so that we know what has transpired during the past few days."  
  
"Very well I will do as you asked," Borus said resignedly, "I will return as soon as possible with any news I learned."  
  
"Thank you Borus, not just for this but for everything you have done for me as well." Chris said turning her head to look straight at the blonde Zexen knight. "I am lucky to have you and the other knights as friends."  
  
"It is a honor for us to serve you milady." Borus replied, sincerity evident in his voice.  
  
"A honor for me too," She replied as they arrived at the hut, "We should take what rest we can tonight. Tomorrow promises to be a long day for both of us."  
  
"I know." Borus said, slightly hesitant." I hope that everything will go smoothly."  
  
"I hope so too Borus, I hope so too."  
  
**************************************************************************** *******  
  
Salome took a moment to look out through the window unto the street of Vinay del Zexay, from the upper level hallway of the council hall. Though being so early in the morning it was fairly empty, he knew from experience that soon the street would be crowded with people doing their everyday activities. Briefly he wondered if the ordinary ever stop and ponder about the momentous decisions that were being made behind the finely crafted wall of this building. Certainly what will happen in the next few moments may very well be one of those decisions. He knew that he had a difficult task ahead of him, from the rumors of the mob gathering he had surmised the intention of the council in summoning him. It might very well mean warfare if he could not convince the council that Karaya had nothing to do with the assassination of his captain.  
  
'Attempted,' he corrected himself though he could not let the council learn of that.  
  
He paused for a second, taking a few deep breath to calm himself and collect his thoughts. Then he opened the door in front of him and entered the council chamber. As he entered the councilors all stood up. The first councilor Lorn brought his hand to his chest and bowed his head.  
  
"We are honored to have Lord Salome of our mighty Zexen knights with us, Goddess be with us today and here at the council."  
  
"Let me give thanks to our goddess for allowing this occasion to gather here today." Salome said, following in suit to gave the ceremony reply.  
  
"Ah Lord Salome, We have been waiting for you," First councilor Lorn said from behind the large table, sitting down with the rest of the councilors. "I hope you had a pleasant trip from Brass Castle. I apologize for the short notice but the matter we must discuss is quite.. Urgent."  
  
"That is what I was told, hence I came as soon as I was able." Salome replied sitting down himself.  
  
"You see Lord Salome, recently we have had heard quite a few rumors." Lorn continued while gesturing with his hands for emphasis. " So we would like you to clear a few things up, namely the cause of Lady Chris' death."  
  
"I believe I have already made a report on that." Salome replied raising an eyebrow. " Or is it the practice of council now to believe in rumors."  
  
"Nevertheless we would like you to swear by the goddess that the rumor isn't correct." Lorn said, leaning forward slightly. "That Lady Chris Lightfellow was not attacked by a man using Karayan blade."  
  
Salome studied Lorn carefully, his mind turning over what Lorn had just said, after a short pause he finally said." No I can not do that."  
  
"Then you admit to lying to the council?" Lorn asked archly.  
  
"As the commander of the knights it is within my right to do what is necessary to prevent unnecessary battle." Salome replied. "Under the circumstance I exercised that right, considering how potentially dangerous such information can be if the public was to learn of this. Especially since it was not made certain that Karayan is really behind this."  
  
"And I suppose it is also your judgment as the 'commander' to conceal this information from the council?" Lorn asked sharply.  
  
"Yes to a sense I am afraid that there might be a possible information leak. Certainly if what I have worked to kept hidden could be leaked to the public. Then any info on the report I sent you could be leaked out."  
  
"Is that so? I question if that is your true reason for hiding this info from the council?" Lorn said, his tone turning accusing. "Perhaps you have a more personal stake in this matter?"  
  
"What are you implying? first councilor Lorn." Salome asked tensely.  
  
"You are the natural choice to take over the command of the knights after Lady Chris." Lorn said addressing the Zexen knights. " You see, after years of being made subordinate whom you considered your intellectually inferior. You finally found the perfect opportunity to get rid of her. By collaborating with the Karayans you devised a plot that would get rid of her. The misinformation that you gave us is simply a way of covering up your crime so no one would suspect you."  
  
Murmurs of surprise and bewilderment erupted from all over the table at first councilors accusation. Salome stared at the councilor, unable to believe what he is hearing. He had came here, prepared to try to convince the council not to resort to military might against the Karayan. What he did not expect was to be accused as a criminal who tried to kill his captain.  
  
"That is ridiculous, I don't have to stand for these kind of wild accusations from you, first councilor." He snapped at the man in front of him.  
  
"Wild accusations? I am afraid not," Lorn said, pulling out several documents and throwing them in front of Salome. "I have gathered information from several source which indicates your involvement in the assassination. Furthermore I have a letter that was written by you to the Karayan chief, discussing the details of assassination."  
  
Wordlessly Salome picked up the documents, the so called sources are all negligible. They are mostly reports of witness seeing him acting suspicious, items that could be easily made up and bared no actual weight in implicating him. His blood stopped cold when he reached the letter though, it seemed impossible yet there it was, in his own writing, a detailed description planning the assassination of Lady Chris. From smuggling the assassin in through a backdoor of Brass castle to poisoning Lady Chris's food to make her more susceptible to assault. It was of course a forgery because he himself knew that he had not written a letter such as this, yet what chilled him more is that even he himself could not distinguish the handwriting from his own.  
  
"Impossible." He gasped out loud.  
  
"Afraid not," Lorn said quietly then raised his voice to call out to the hall. "Guards! arrest this man on the charge of treason."  
  
The door slammed open and 2 guards walked in one on each side of Salome. They moved as to haul Salome up but he stopped them with a wave of his hand. "That is not necessary, I'll do it myself."  
  
Slowly he stood up and for a moment he locked eyes with Lorn. "We both know that your accusations are false, these so called evidences of yours are fake."  
  
"Your claims of innocence are wasted on me." Lorn said calmly, then gestured with his hand. "Take him back to his residence in Vinay and confine him there."  
  
As the guards took Salome out of the chamber, one of the council member turned to Lorn with a grim expression. "That is a serious accusation, First councilor, are you certain of this?"  
  
"As I have said, I have solid proof. He will have his chance to defend himself in the trial." Lorn replied.  
  
"What will we do about the mobs then?" Another councilor asked.  
  
"The only thing we can do now that we have learned the truth." Lorn replied calmly. "Or do you propose that we let the savages get away with murdering one of our own."  
  
For a while the rest of the council murmured amongst themselves discussing things over with those that are closest to them in hushed tones.  
  
"Then it shall be war." One of the councilor finally announced as the various murmured died down.  
  
"Yet how do you propose we proceed with this, we do not have anyone in command of the knights." Another added.  
  
"As to that my dear councilors I do have several suggestions." Lorn announced confidently, looking around the table. Though he appears to be calm on the surface, inwardly he was seething.  
  
'For now I will do as you have planned Damian, but you better watch yourself that you don't fall into my hand.' He thought darkly to himself.  
  
Up next: The count down to war has begun. Meanwhile Geddoe and his team struggle to uncover the truth behind the recent conflict. Will they succeed in finding the truth? or will the glimpse of darkness swallow them whole? 


	7. Glimpse of Darkness

Authors rant: A short chapter this time. Hopefully it is as interesting as the other one. Thank you all for your support and please continue to review my work. My special thanks to Silveran for proof reading and K'arthur for insightful inputs.  
  
"Chris, we are about to leave," Hugo said as he walked into his hut that served as the guest room for the Zexen knights. He froze though when he saw the sight before him. With her back towards him, Chris wearing only a thin white shirt, sat leisurely in front of a large mirror, combing her hair. For a moment he just stared, transfixed by the sight as her pearl white hand guided the wooden comb through the silvery tresses, making it flow like a river. To Hugo, the scene seemed more like a painting than reality. Suddenly, he became aware of the state of undress she was in and quickly turned around, his face burning bright red.  
  
"Ummm. Sorry for intruding. I thought Borus would be in and it's my hut so I am not used to knocking and I thought you were done and..." the young Karayan spluttered embarrassingly.  
  
"It is alright Hugo," Chris said as she dressed herself, putting on a blue coat and the black pants that she had set aside. "You may turn around now Hugo, I am decent."  
  
Hugo let out the breath that he didn't know he was holding and turned around, his face still burning from the embarrassment. "Sorry about that, I didn't mean it."  
  
"Do not worry about it," Chris replied with a mischievous grin as she fastened her sword. "At least I had something on. If you came in a few seconds earlier though I might think you were trying to peek."  
  
"What?! I would never...!" Hugo's face got even redder.  
  
"Heh." Chris could not help but smile at Hugo's reaction. "You certainly are looking better today. Brooding doesn't suit you."  
  
"I suppose not," Hugo shrugged. "You look well, Chris. You seem to be more relaxed."  
  
"Am I?" Chris blinked and then shrugged slightly. "I suppose I do feel a lot better today."  
  
"Where is Borus?" Hugo asked, looking around.  
  
"He went outside to give me some privacy." Chris walked to the doorway where Hugo was standing. "I wish to talk to him before we leave."  
  
"He is not coming?" Hugo asked, surprised that the blonde knight won't be accompanying them.  
  
"No, he has to return to Brass castle to tell Salome what happened here and to find out what has been happening there," Chris said as they walked out of the hut toward the back. They found Borus standing there, looking out down the hills into the distance. He turned around as they walked near.  
  
"Are you leaving now, milady?" Borus asked, walking forward to meet them.  
  
"Yes, I assume you will leave soon as well?" Chris asked, absentmindedly brushing back a strand of hair.  
  
"Later in the day, so that when I arrive I would have the cover of the night to sneak in." Borus turned to give Hugo a hard look. "I will hold you to your word, Sir Hugo."  
  
Hugo nodded in reply, well aware of the fact that Borus was asking him to protect Chris while the knight was away.  
  
Chris looked on the exchange in confusion, wondering what has happened between the two, but decided not to press the issue.  
  
"May the Goddess watch over you and give you wings of light to speed you on your journey," she said, bowing her head and using one of the traditional farewells for good luck.  
  
"May the Goddess watch over you and give you wings of light to speed you on your journey as well, milady," Borus replied bowing his head as well.  
  
"May She watch over us both."  
  
**************************************************************************** ***  
  
Suikoden 3 Fanfic Conflict from within ch7:  
Glimpse of Darkness  
  
**************************************************************************** ***  
  
Anxiously Salome paced back and forth in his room. After the disaster at the meeting, he was escorted back and confined to his house by several knights. In some ways he would have to applaud Lorn's ingenuity. He never would have pictured himself being accused of such a crime. Moreover, he was still puzzled as how Lorn obtained such strong evidence in implicating him. The letter was, of course, a forgery, yet he himself believed that the letter was by his own hand. He let out a sigh and scooped up the glass of wine that was lying on the table. He needed to clear his thoughts and focus on the subject if he were to be of any help in his current situation. The sudden opening of the door caught his attention and he whirled around to face the one who dared to intrude his solitude. He had expected it to be his butler, or some maid trying to clean his room. What he found, however, was not what he expected.  
  
"Geddoe?" he exclaimed, surprised by the true rune bearer. "How did you get here?"  
  
"I climbed the back wall." The one-eyed man shrugged. "A few of your knights tried to stop me, but I convinced them otherwise. They should not have more than a slight headache when they wake up."  
  
"I see," Salome nodded as if expecting that. "Then I suppose you have heard them."  
  
"I did," Geddoe replied and sat down on a chair nearby. "Hard to imagine you committing such an act."  
  
"I didn't," Salome replied calmly.  
  
Geddoe nodded knowing that his old friend is too loyal to commit such an act. "So tell me what happened."  
  
Quickly Salome related to his friend what had happened during the council meeting and his subsequent confinement. "With the current situation, I would not be surprised if the council declared war against Karaya this instant."  
  
"If that is true, who will be in charge of the knights?" Geddoe asked, looking deep in thought.  
  
Salome paused and thought for a moment. "They will choose Percival as the next captain of the knights."  
  
"I know the man, but why him?"  
  
"The captain of the knights must be someone whom the knights will follow. The obvious choice is from the mighty six," Salome explained locking gaze with the man in front of him. "As far as the council is concerned, Borus is on an extended vacation in Tinto. With no way to contact him, he won't be considered as a choice. Chris and I are definitely out for obvious reasons. Roland is an elf so his position is rather unique, whether or not the knights will follow him is in question. That leaves just Leo and Percival.  
  
"Leo has strong ties in the merchant guild just like me. The only reason why I am not rotting away in a jail cell is because of my connections. Both my cousin and uncle are influential members of the guild; my father was a councilor himself. That is why I know the council will proceed carefully in laying the charge against me," Salome continued, shaking his head in disgust. "Percival, however, came from a commoner's family. He would be easy to get rid of if he tries to disobey the council. Furthermore, if something happened in the Karayan campaign they could just lay the blame on him and the public will accept it."  
  
"Complex situation you have here," Geddoe remarked looking down at his right hand as if in thought. "I sent Ace and Queen to investigate this Councilor Lorn of yours already. If I find anything, I'll let you know."  
  
"If you find anything, please go to Karaya and let Lady Chris know," Salome requested. "As it is, I could do little from where I am. If anything, she is in a better position to use the information that you have collected."  
  
"The guards are down, you could always." Geddoe trailed off at the unspoken suggestion.  
  
"No! I could not," Salome said, closing his eyes as he shook his head.  
  
".Your honor and duty would not permit it." Geddoe nodded. "I understand, old friend. You are ever one to be old fashioned."  
  
"We are who we are, after all," Salome sighed, "as an old friend of mine would always say."  
  
"Very well." Geddoe stood up and walked to the door.  
  
"May the Goddess protect you, Geddoe," Salome called out in farewell.  
  
"If she hasn't forsaken a man like me already." the true lighting rune bearer called back grimly.  
  
**************************************************************************** *******  
  
"So where is this Councilor Loony that we are supposed to check on?" Ace asked in a low tone as he tried to look busy browsing the merchandise that was on display.  
  
"Shush, Ace," Queen whispered back, her eyes darting around to see if anyone heard. Luckily, the street was fairly crowded and no one seemed to be paying attention. "Besides, it's Lorn, not Loony. I thought you lived here. Don't you know who runs your city?"  
  
"What can I say?" Ace smiled as if finding it funny. "I'm just not into politics."  
  
"Whatever. Just don't mess things up," Queen whispered back irritably. "Hey look! Is that him?"  
  
From across the large square, a familiar councilman walked out of the council hall and started down one of the side streets. His quickened step showed a degree of agitation and urgency.  
  
"Looks like it. Come on let's follow him."  
  
**************************************************************************** *******  
  
Lorn hurriedly walked down the street of Vinay del Zexay. It had taken a while, yet he had managed to convince the rest of the council to do as he suggested. It had been harder than he had expected, despite all the effort he had put in before the meeting. All the visits and sounding out the other councilors seemed to have helped little in terms of making the final decision, yet he had achieved what he set out to do and he was proud of the fact. If only he wasn't doing this for that annoying Damian, then things would have been perfect. After a short walk, he arrived at a finely furnished mansion with a large garden. He walked straight to the door and knocked. After a few moments of waiting, Damian's butler opened the door.  
  
"I wish to speak to Damian," Lorn told the balding man in front of him. The butler nodded and led Lorn to a large well-lit room with many windows. In the center of the room, on a large red couch and behind an antique wooden table, Damian sat leisurely with his arms on the backrest. On a side couch sat two black-clad men, one idling toying with a dagger, the other sipping a glass of wine.  
  
"Come in, come in, Councilor. I have been waiting for you," Damian greeted pleasantly, though his face held a smirk that irritated the councilor to no end.  
  
"It's done, Damian," the councilor declared while pulling out several documents and putting them on the table, wasting no time on pleasantries. "The council has appointed you the ambassador in charge and Sir Percival Fraulein the new captain. You, however, will be in charge of demanding retribution from the Karayan for the murder of Lady Chris Lightfellow. You are to set out to Brass Castle immediately to take charge of the operation."  
  
"Excellent," Damian said, picking up the documents to read them. Though he tried to stay calm, Lorn could tell that Damian was pleased and excited at this news.  
  
"Now that you have what you wanted I suppose we are even," Lorn said, giving Damian a hard glare.  
  
"Not that easy my dear councilor. You don't suppose the fee for the assassination of the Silver Maiden is that simple is it?" Damian inquired absentmindedly as he leafed through the documents.  
  
"What more do you want, Damian?" the councilor snarled at the man.  
  
"At the moment nothing, so you may as well go home. I'll contact you when you are required," Damian answered leisurely.  
  
"Why you-?!" Lorn growled. For a moment he just stood there trembling with barely contained rage, then he stomped around and stormed out.  
  
"Heh, he looks quite angry. I wonder how long it will take before he bursts a vein," Damian commented amusingly after Lorn left.  
  
"With the way you have been working on him, no wonder he is so angry," a voice said idly from behind Damian.  
  
Damian swung around quickly, a hand reaching for his sword. A few feet behind the couch stood a tall figure in a long black cloak. The face of the man was obscured by the shadows from the hood of the cloak.  
  
"So it's you," Damian said tightly, his hand clutching tensely on the sword by his side. At the sight of the cloaked figure, the two black-clad men who were sitting on the other couch immediately bowed their heads and went down on one knee, their right fists thumping against their left breasts.  
  
"Is it so surprising? I am merely here to check on how our plan is progressing," the cloaked figure said amusingly. "As well as checking to see if you mistreated the man."  
  
"It is going fine. Salome Harras reacted just like you said he would," Damian said, his focus completely on the man in front of him.  
  
"Of course, it was easy to predict what he would do since I know the way he thinks," the cloaked figure replied in the same amusing tone. "We studied military tactics together after all."  
  
"The forged letter also worked well," Damian noted. "I assume the forgery of his handwriting is also a product because you two studied together?"  
  
"That letter? It was not in Salome's hand writing." The cloaked figure shrugged.  
  
"Oh?" Damian asked, puzzled.  
  
"People see what they believe they are seeing even if what they are seeing may not necessary be the truth," the cloaked figure explained. "In this case, the letter was warded so that whoever looks at it will believe it to be written from Salome. As long as they believe that, it does not matter who wrote the letter."  
  
"The power of your true rune. That is very clever of you," Damian remarked.  
  
"Not so clever of you unfortunately," the cloaked man returned coldly. "I can see the ward around you fading. You have been using your true rune again, haven't you? If people found out you are not really Damian or that you are not Zexen at all then all you have worked for is for naught."  
  
"Just fix it," Damian growled.  
  
"As long as you don't focus the power on yourself, the ward should be fine. So it should provide no problem in our plan," the cloaked one said, holding out a glowing gloved hand toward Damian. "The Sovereign Rune is not a toy you know."  
  
"I do not need you to tell me that!" Damian snapped.  
  
"Temper, temper." mocked the cloaked figure.  
  
"Hmm... Where is that help you said you are getting for me?" Damian asked tensely, ignoring his superior's sarcastic tone.  
  
"I should not have any help convincing him, considering he will have his own reasons for helping. The last I heard, he is living with monsters in the ruins." All of a sudden the hooded figure's head snapped to one side as if listening for something. "It seemed that you did not do a good job of pest control. Two rats just left from where they were hiding outside of your window."  
  
"I will take care of them," Damian promised.  
  
"Do not bother, you still have to go to Brass Castle. Leave this to me. I may enjoy the.exercise." The cloaked figure lifted his right hand and motioned toward the two men kneeling on the ground. They sprung up at the gesture and left hurriedly by the door.  
  
"Rest assured, Damian, all will be taken care of."  
  
**************************************************************************** *******  
  
"And then all of a sudden this freakish guy wearing a black cloak just popped out of nowhere!" Ace exclaimed, his hand making wild gestures for the dramatic effect.  
  
"They mentioned several things. Apparently they both have true runes. One of them, Damian I believe his name was, has the rune. Sovereign rune I believe the other one called it," Queen added gravely.  
  
"Two true runes? That sounds like big trouble, Geddoe," Joker stated calmly.  
  
"Indeed." Geddoe replied, apparently deep in thought.  
  
"These men clad in black," Jacques began quietly from where he was sitting by the window, did they have swords by their sides and were quite dangerous looking?"  
  
"Yeah, why?"  
  
"I think I spotted several groups matching your description outside the inn," Jacques replied, pointing outside of the window, "on the rooftops and below, hiding in the shadows. I estimate the number is about fifty."  
  
The rest of the group hurriedly moved to the window to look outside. They could see several shapes scurrying across the shadows in the back alley and some shapes moving amongst the rooftops as well.  
  
"Damn, we're screwed," Ace said grimly.  
  
Up next: Zexens march grimly toward war. Surrounded by enemies, what will happen to Geddoe's party? 


	8. Drums of War

Author rant: Thank you for all your reviews and please continue to give me inputs in regards to my story. All your help has helped me to improve my story and I hope with that I could present you a better work to read. Once again special thanks to Silveran for proof reading and K'Arthur for the insights.  
  
"Oh boy, we are screwed..." Ace remarked grimly, glancing down at the enemies skulking in the shadows.  
  
"What are we going to do, Captain?" Aila asked, her face tight with worry.  
  
"Hmm. It's pointless to stand and fight. Let's get down into the streets so we don't get boxed in," Geddoe replied calmly to his team.  
  
"Alright then, let's move," Queen declared, moving out of the room and taking the lead as the rest of the team followed in suit. She quickly ran down the hall and then descended down the wooden stairway. As she reached the bottom of the stairs into the common room of the inn, both the front and back door of the inn burst open and two groups of black clad swordsmen swarmed in. The common room erupted in chaos as the swordsmen rushed toward the mercenary group while the other patrons tried to flee.  
  
Queen brought up her blade to knock aside the overhead slash of the nearest swordsman. Then she brought her own blade around in a horizontal slash at the man's chest that was blocked by the swordsman. She then pushed forward with her blade, closing the distance between them and followed up with a kick to the shin, which the man leapt back to avoid. He stepped back warily and she saw from the corner of her eye the rest of her team engaged in combat.  
  
Joker leapt back from the slashes of the man in front of him and then leapt up onto a nearby table to deliver a kick, which narrowly missed the enemy's head. Ace blocked another man's cleave with both of his sais and pushed the blade away, forcing the man to step back. He then followed it up with a flurry of stabs and slashes, which the man barely blocked. Geddoe knocked away yet another man's slash with his own sword and then moved forward to smash his fist into the man's nose, bloodying it and sending the man stumbling back. A second man joined the first opponent facing Queen and she had to leap back to avoid the double horizontal slash made by the two.  
  
'We need to get out here,' Queen thought desperately as more and more armed men rushed into the inn. An idea struck her then and she leapt back behind the table and pushed it against the two swordsmen facing her, which forced them to stumble back.  
  
"The windows!" she shouted and dashed to the nearest window. The swordsmen that were engaged in battle with her moved to follow, trying to go around the table but crumbled in a heap as two arrows pierced through their legs. With a great leap Queen crashed through the wooden frame, sending glass and wood splinters flying everywhere. She turned around to see that the rest of the team had followed suit.  
  
"Come on!" she shouted and dashed down one of the alleyways. She almost stopped her running when she saw who was waiting for them around the corner of the alleyway. There, standing in the middle of the alley, was the cloaked man that they saw at Damian's house earlier. She gritted her teeth knowing that they could not stop if they wish to escape so she charged the man at full speed, her blade at the ready.  
  
The man held out his hand and Queen could hear the sound of his chanting. All of a sudden, thick vines burst out of the ground all around her, entangling her in its grasp, freezing her in place. She could see that Ace, Joker, Aila and Jacques all met the same fate, caught in the grasps of the vines. She struggled against her bonds, but she just seemed to be more tangled up by it. Suddenly, a bright blue beam of electricity zoomed passed her, making her hair stand on end as it continued towards the cloaked figure. It struck some sort of invisible shield and discharged all around the figure, creating a large crater on the ground. Though the attack did not harm the cloaked figure, it seemed to serve in disrupting his concentration as the vines vanished without a trace, and even the ground returned to the smooth stone pavements. Though she already knew who it was that cast the spell, she nevertheless turned around and saw Geddoe with his right hand still stretched out toward the cloaked one, his true lightning rune shining brightly on his hand.  
  
"Geddoe, bearer of the true lightning rune," the cloaked one said. "Do you intend to initiate a battle between two true runes here in Vinay? Or do you not care about the innocents that will die from the powers of true runes clashing?"  
  
"What are you suggesting?" Geddoe asked quietly, walking forward to face the cloaked figure. From behind them, their pursuers had arrived, the large group of swordsmen spreading out in a line to prevent the mercenary from escaping.  
  
"A duel," the cloaked one replied, lifting up its gloved hand for emphasis. "You would certainly be a worthy opponent. If you win, I'll let you and your men go free and if you lose, well lets just say that you shall not lack for company in the afterworld."  
  
"It's a very tempting proposal." Geddoe continued to walk forward, sparing a quick glance her way, before turning his attention back to the cloaked figure in front of them. In that glance, Queen realized what Geddoe was planning and she quickly reached inside one of her pockets for the items that they would need.  
  
"Unfortunately, since my purpose here is not to fight, I will have to decline," Geddoe said, stopping suddenly and spinning around, shouting: "Queen!"  
  
In one smooth motion Queen pulled out the stick of specially made packet from her pocket and lit it expertly with matches, throwing the burning object into the air as hard as she could. All of a sudden, there was a loud bang and an intense flash of light. When the light faded, Geddoe and his team were nowhere to be found.  
  
"Should we gave pursue, Milord?" one of the black clad swordsmen asked. "They could not have gone far. We can still cut them off at the gate."  
  
"Do not bother." The cloaked one waved a hand in dismissal. "Though it is unfortunate that I could not assess his strength right now, there will be other opportunities. Besides, we still have more important things to concern ourselves with."  
  
*************************************************************************** ****  
  
Suikoden 3 Fanfic Conflict from within ch8:  
Drums of War  
  
**************************************************************************** ***  
  
Borus ran quickly through the forest near Brass Castle. He could see the stonewalls of the famous Zexen fortress loom ahead like some giant beast towering and snarling under the burning torches. He had tied his horse somewhere off the road and then had proceeded on foot to the current location, walking deeper into the forest. He thanked the Goddess for the clear night; the moon adding its own silvery radiance with the torches on the castle, providing him enough illumination for what he was searching for. When Chris told them of the secret entrances to the Brass castle and told them to fill the tunnels up a few years ago, Salome had insisted that they leave one entrance in working order. He argued that it would give them a strategic advantage in case of siege and Chris had agreed. Thus, one entrance was left alone as an emergency 'bolt hole' as Borus always thought of it. He was thankful for Salome's brilliance as it gave him the means to avoid having to sneak in through the front, a task that he was certain that he would not be able to accomplish given his lack of stealth skills.  
  
With some difficulty Borus found the place he was looking for and with a sweep of his hand cleared away the grass that was covering the cellar door that would lead him down into the underground tunnel of the castle. He pulled the wooden doors up from the ground to reveal a large metal door, then, he reached inside his pocket and pulled out a small iron key and unlocked the metal door beneath the wooden cellar door. The lock had been a protective measure against intrusion and he had obtained the key from Salome when he left with Chris several days ago as a secure way of sneaking back in.  
  
He lit a torch as he descended the stairs into the underground tunnel. Monsters no longer wandered around here and for that he was grateful, as he did not want to waste time by fighting meaningless battles. He traveled alone in the damp stale air for a short while until he came upon a spiraling staircase that would lead him up into the heart of Brass Castle. He climbed upward until it reached a dead end, the way blocked by a layered stonewall. Anxiety filled him as he stood in front of it, the last obstacle to his goal. Twelve by four was the combination he remembered, so after putting his ear to the wall and making sure there are no suspicious people on the other side of the wall, he counted the stone blocks twelve across and four down and then pressed on the block. There was a tiny clicking sound indicating that the wall was now unlocked and slowly he applied pressure on the left side, rotating the wall by its center to reveal an entrance to a large room.  
  
The room was almost completely covered in darkness with exception to the moonlight shining through the window. A quick glance told Borus that Salome was not here, to his great disappointment. He had hoped that Salome would be in his room so that they may talk right away. He looked around the darkened room and decided to wait for the blond strategist to return. He sat down in one of the guest chairs in the room and began recollecting his thoughts for how to tell Salome about everything when he returned. For a long time he waited in the quietness of the dark room, yet Salome did not return. Just as he was about to give up and risk the chance of discovery by searching the castle for the strategist, the clinking sound of armor and the sound of footsteps in the hallway told him that someone was coming. Not knowing who it was, Borus decided to hide under the bed until he was certain of the newcomer's identity.  
  
The door creaked open slowly, flooding the room with lights from the hallway as a familiar voice rang out.  
  
"I bet you never expected them to pull that on you, Salome. I just hope that all the trouble is worth it, that Lady Chris is still alive."  
  
"Percival!" Borus shouted from under the bed.  
  
"What? Borus? Where are you?" Percival exclaimed, walking in the room and shutting the door behind him.  
  
"Right here!" Borus said as he climbed out from under the bed.  
  
"Thank the Goddess you're back," Percival said, his voice trembling with fear as he asked the important question. "Where is Lady Chris? Is she.?"  
  
"She's fine," Borus replied, a mixture of pride and joy mixed in his voice at telling his friend the good news. "Alive and well. She's back in the Grasslands because we're not sure if it's safe for her to return yet."  
  
"She's alone in the Grasslands? By the Goddess, Borus, what are you thinking?!" Percival shouted at the blond man.  
  
"She made me came back. She practically ordered me to. Even then I wouldn't have left if I thought she was in danger, Percival. You should know that." Borus sighed. "The Flame Champion Hugo swore on his honor that he would protect her. The last I saw, they were heading to Duck Village so she shouldn't be in any danger."  
  
"He did huh? Well that is surprising. Considering what lies between them," Percival commented, rubbing his forehead with his right hand. "I'm sorry, Borus. It's just that things have been on edge lately."  
  
"Why? What happened?" Borus inquired curiously.  
  
"Disaster, that's what," Percival answered, shaking his head. "Salome was arrested for treason. The Council believed that he was involved in Lady Chris' assassination."  
  
"What?! He would never do that!" Borus exclaimed angrily.  
  
"We both know that," Percival agreed resignedly. "But most people don't know that, I heard the council got strong evidence against him, plus we lost a lot of our credibility when it was found out that we lied to the public about the circumstance of Lady Chris' assassination."  
  
"How could this happen?" Borus growled. "The Council must have framed him, those bast-"  
  
"Calm down, Borus, we don't know if that is true or not." Percival interrupted, shaking his head. "I know what needs to be done though. I know you have just returned, but I must ask you to return to the Grasslands immediately and I mean as soon as possible. Each second counts in this matter."  
  
"Why? What is so important?" Borus asked, his face taught with worry at Percival's tone.  
  
"I have just being appointed to the Captain of the knights and the Council has ordered me to move my troops toward Karaya in demand of an 'explanation' from the Karayans for the assassination of Lady Chris. A representative, one Sir Damian if I remember his name correctly, has been sent from the Council to 'supervise' the proceedings," Percival explained, gritting his teeth in anger. "In short, the Council intended to invade Karaya and this Damian person is the leash to ensure that I do as they wish.  
  
"As of now we are making preparations to march in the morning, Borus," he continued, locking gaze with his friend. "We need Lady Chris back. The Council is using her death as an excuse to attack Karaya. If people know that she is still alive, then we can avoid this meaningless conflict."  
  
"If she comes back then she might be in danger again, you know that right?" Borus asked his friend intently.  
  
"Yes, I do. However, we have no choice. It is our duty," Percival returned gravely.  
  
"Duty. I am beginning to hate that word," Borus sighed. "Very well, I will leave immediately."  
  
"It can't be helped." Percival shrugged. "Borus, please tell Lady Chris how glad we are that she is alright. Take care of her for us and you be careful too."  
  
"I know, I will," Borus replied over his shoulder as he opened the secret passage and disappeared into the darkness.  
  
**************************************************************************** *******  
  
"It's good to see you again, Sergeant!" Hugo greeted.  
  
"Yes, it has been almost a year since we last saw each other, Hugo," Sergeant Joe agreed, nodding to himself. "How have you been doing lately? I heard that Lucia went on a trip."  
  
"As well as can be expected under the circumstances I suppose," Hugo replied. "I take it that you are aware of why I am here."  
  
"Yes, the mayor told me. The other chiefs have already arrived," Joe nodded. "They are all waiting at the mayor's house."  
  
"Very well then. We'll head over there immediately," Hugo answered.  
  
"Beecham, it is good to see you again as well," Joe greeted.  
  
"Likewise, Sergeant," Beecham nodded.  
  
"Lady Chris, welcome to Duck Village." Sergeant Joe looked behind Hugo at the Zexen knight. "Though I have to admit I didn't expect you to be here."  
  
"Thank you, Sergeant Joe," Chris replied politely. "The recent event has surprised me as well."  
  
"I see." The duck warrior replied, glancing at Hugo briefly. Then he turned around and began walking toward one of the larger buildings in the village. "We shouldn't keep the others waiting. Follow me."  
  
They walked down the wooden plank that served as Duck Village's main walkway and arrived at the mayor's house. Joe opened the door and led them.  
  
"Ah, there he is!" the mayor exclaimed from where he and the other chiefs were sitting as Hugo and the others walked into the house. "We have been waiting for you, Hugo."  
  
"Hello, Mayor," Hugo greeted the older duck. He then turned to the others there. "Greetings, Chief Dupa and Kamia."  
  
"Ha! Hugo you're late!" the Lizard Chief roared in amusement. "It seems that you're losing your touch as the fastest rider in the Grasslands!"  
  
"I'll keep that in mind," Hugo grinned and turned to the elder woman, Kamia. "Where is Chief Sana?"  
  
"Unfortunately, she doesn't feel well enough to travel. I came in her stead," Kamia, a woman seeming to be in her late fifties with short graying brown hair, kind features and wearing the traditional woolen cloth of the Chisha tribe, replied. "Do not worry though. It is nothing serious and she should be fine in a few days."  
  
"That is good to hear," Hugo nodded visibly relieved.  
  
"Anyway, I think it's tim-" Dupa stopped suddenly and glared behind Hugo. "What is that Zexen woman doing in here?!"  
  
"I invited her, Dupa," Hugo spared a quick glance behind him at Chris before continuing. "She is here to help."  
  
"Really? According to your message, Hugo, we are here to discuss about the Zexen threat," Dupa growled, narrowing his eyes at the silver-haired woman. "And she is the biggest threat of them all."  
  
"I am not a threat unless you make me one, Chief Dupa," Chris stated calmly as she stepped forward and locked gaze with the Lizard Chief. "I desire peace between Grasslands and Zexen Federation as much as any."  
  
For a moment the two leaders just stared at each other, neither willing to back down. Suddenly Dupa let out a loud laugh. "Well said Silver Maiden! Let's hear what you have to say."  
  
"Well, now that the introductions are over, we can finally start," the mayor announced in relief.  
  
Hugo and the others sat down on the chairs that were prepared for them, facing the other chiefs.  
  
"Five days ago," Hugo began, sweeping his gaze across all those present, "under a very unique circumstance, Lady Chris came to our village and from her we were able to learn the intentions of the Zexen Council."  
  
Chris shot Hugo a surprised glance as the Karayan went on. "It appears that the Zexen Council is unhappy with how the treaty worked out and intends to rework it, under the threat of force."  
  
"A treaty was signed with terms that both agreed to," the Lizard chief growled and shifted his focus from Hugo to Chris. "I don't see why we are under any obligation to renegotiate it. If they desire a fight, just let them try."  
  
"In part, I agree with you Dupa," Hugo replied. "We should not have to back down from this just because they threatened us. However, we should certainly hear them out before doing anything rash."  
  
"I agree with Hugo," Kamia said, her voice strong and motherly. "Although we of the Chisha clan do not have much to offer in terms of an army, it is a decision that will affect the entire Grasslands. I feel that we should do everything in our power to avoid conflict."  
  
"I agree with the Madame," the mayor nodded. "We should not do things so rashly after all."  
  
Slowly the Lizard Chief nodded his head in agreement. "Fine. How will we approach this then?"  
  
Hugo turned to Chris, a ghost of a smile touching his lips. "Chris, out of all of us, you probably had the most experience dealing with the Zexen Council. What do you suggest?"  
  
"I would probably suggest a firm response." Chris looked thoughtful. "In a way, that shows them that you are not to be bullied, but at the same time approach them with eloquence and respect that they don't feel that they are being bullied into complying."  
  
"Interesting suggestion, Chris," Hugo said. "In that case, I have an idea about it but I am not sure if it will work."  
  
"What is it, Hugo?" the mayor asked.  
  
"Up till now we have only considered reacting to the actions of Zexens. Rather than waiting for them, I say we step up and take control of this situation." Hugo swept his gaze at the entire group. "I suggest we send an invitation to the Zexen Council and invite them to discuss the treaty at Budehuc Castle.  
  
"Budehuc is a neutral territory so it would be the ideal place of discussion. Furthermore, because of its neutrality, we can use it to prevent the army from being involved in the discussion. That will at least give us a fair chance to work things out without the possibility of a war hanging over our shoulders."  
  
"That sounds good, Hugo. Quite ingenious, I might add," the mayor commented.  
  
"I, too, think it's a good idea," Kamia nodded sagely in agreement.  
  
"It could work," Chris agreed. "The Council certainly could not refuse such an invitation. It would be against.etiquette to do otherwise."  
  
"Quite brilliant, Hugo," Dupa nodded. "Yet, we should also discuss the possibility that in case a break down of negotiations occur and war do come to Grassland. What we should do to defend ourselves."  
  
"That is true. We should be prepared for all possibilities," Hugo agreed. "I suppose we should discuss how we will deploy the troops against a possible Zexen invasion. We."  
  
"Wait, I don't think she should be part of all this," Dupa interrupted looking directly at Chris, "even if she is helping us right now. If a war does occur, she would be the enemy. Therefore, we should not include her in this discussion."  
  
"But." Hugo trailed off, biting his lower lip.  
  
"It is alright Hugo, I'll leave," Chris said, standing up. "It is, after all, a private matter in the Grasslands. As a Zexen, I should not be part of this."  
  
"Alright, I'll escort you out then," Hugo said moving forward to stand up, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"This concerns Karaya as well. As the acting Chief you should stay," Beecham uttered to Hugo in a low tone.  
  
"I'll guide her to where she can stay," Sergeant Joe offered, standing up.  
  
Chris nodded. "Thank you Sergeant Joe."  
  
In silence they walked out of the mayor's house towards the inn. As they entered the reception area of the inn, Sergeant Joe gave the innkeeper a brief nod of acknowledgement before continuing on toward the back. They stopped at the very room that Chris had stayed in when she journeyed to the Grasslands in search of her father all those years ago.  
  
"This is your room; the mayor has made arrangements for you and the others to stay here," Joe informed her, opening the door and handing her the key.  
  
"Thank you again for your hospitality," Chris replied.  
  
"I have to thank you as well," Joe returned a bit hesitantly.  
  
"Why?" Chris asked, puzzled.  
  
"I have known Hugo since he was a little child, and I know him like the back of my wing feather. What you did at Karaya Village five years ago left a deep scar," he explained, closing his eyes in reminiscence. "He hated you for taking away his best friend, and more importantly, he hated himself for not being able to protect Lulu.  
  
"Though he tried to hide that as the years went on, I can see that he never did get over Lulu's death and I was afraid that it might remain a dark spot within his heart forever. Yet, today when I met him, I can sense that there was a change as if the scar finally begun to heal. I think I have you to thank for that."  
  
"If so, you should not have to thank me," Chris replied in low voice. "After all it was I who caused the scar in the first place."  
  
"Perhaps so, but still." Sergeant Joe turned around and walked off toward the front. "Please continue to help him."  
  
"If I can, I don't even know what to do," she replied, shaking her head.  
  
**************************************************************************** *******  
  
She must have dozed off because when she came to it was morning already. The sound of knocking at the door interrupted her musing and she took a minute to check if she was decent before opening it.  
  
"Good morning, Chris."  
  
"Good morning, Hugo," she replied. For a minute there was an awkward silence as neither knew what to say to the other.  
  
"I-" Hugo began, hesitant at approaching the subject.  
  
"Would you like to come in?" Chris interrupted, stepping away from the door.  
  
"Yeah," Hugo said, stepping into the room. "Look, I have to apologize for what happened yesterday. I didn't mean for that to happen at the meeting."  
  
"It is alright, Hugo. Under the circumstance, there was nothing you could do. Besides, I didn't mind it," Chris replied. "That reminds me, I still have to thank you."  
  
"For what?" he asked.  
  
"For being considerate by not telling the others exactly why I was in Karaya," she replied, locking gaze with the young Karayan.  
  
"Well, I remember you were so angry about it," he said softly, finding himself lost in the stormy gray of her eyes. "It must be uncomfortable for you to talk about it."  
  
For a moment they just stood there staring at each other, searching. Right and then Chris realized what Sergeant Joe meant, within those deep emerald green eyes she sense a deep pain and strong conflict. After their talk in Karaya, she knew in a sense that those emotions existed within the young man. Yet she never understood how deep the cut was. Desperately she tried to think of a way to heal the wounds she had inflicted upon him, yet nothing seemed to come to mind. The moment passed and She suddenly became aware of the intensity of his gaze. Flustered she spun around quickly, breaking eye contact. She could feel her face burning with embarrassment but managed to finish the sentence in an even tone. "Thank you for remembering then."  
  
"You're welcome," Hugo replied, flustered at what happened.  
  
The room fell into another awkward silence, both too embarrassed to say a word more. Finally, Hugo let out a sigh and turned to leave. Just then the door banged open and a man rushed in. At the sudden intrusion, Hugo and Chris both reached for their blades, expecting the worst, but stopped when they saw who it was.  
  
"Borus?!" Chris exclaimed, surprised at his sudden appearance. "What happened?"  
  
"War, milady," he replied gravely.  
  
Up next: Hugo and Chris rush to stop this meaningless war, but Damian still got several cards up his sleeve. Will they be successful? Or will they fall prey to Damian's schemes? 


	9. The Plan

Author's rant: A short chapter despite how long it took. The past two weeks have been busy for me, of course the blackout didn't help either ~_~. Anyways I have to thank all who have reviewed and please review more so I would be able to improve my writing! Anyways here is ch.9  
  
Broken pillars jutted out of the desolate wasteland like the fingers of a dying man reaching desperately for the heavens in hope of salvation. Stone slabs that were at one time smoother than glass and far beyond the technical capabilities of this era were now broken and corroded beyond recognition. The once beautiful and magnificent architecture now lay wasted across the lonely landscape. This was all that remained of a once powerful race-a race so powerful that their influence spanned across the continent. Yet ultimately, they too were swallowed by the rapid currents of time, and vanished into history like many others. The ruins of Cyndar are places shrouded in mystery, amidst its broken walls whispered the secrets of the past, the promises of untold stories and riches beyond imagination. Yet despite its lures, few dared to come into its boundary, save for the mad and foolish. For amidst these walls prowled fearsome monsters that would mean immediate doom to the unwary. Yet in recent times there was a change, a different kind of monster now prowled these ruins as well, one that is so powerful that the other monsters retreated in fear. Though it appeared in the shape of a man there could be little doubt that the man was actually a demon in human form.  
  
He prowled the ruin searching for prey, caring little about whom he would find, blood was his calling and although his preferred prey were humans, he supposed he would do with what he could find. His mismatched eyes glittered excitedly under the shadow of his black hat that covered most of his face as he stalked amongst the fallen stones. In the games of natural selection he was the king, and death and chaos were his domains. Slowly he moved forward, his prey in plain sight. The chimera sat peacefully on the ground, oblivious of the approaching doom. He dashed forward suddenly, twin blades popping out of his black coat sleeves, his long blond hair trailing behind him like streamers. Like a giant bird of prey he descended upon his victim. The three-headed beast turned toward him, its body moving as it tried to get up and defend itself. But by then they both knew it was already too late.  
  
Its three pairs of eyes had just enough time to widen in horror at the knowledge of its own demise before he was upon it, blades slashing. Blood splashed out onto the soft earth and he savored the feeling of steel cutting through flesh, its dying screams music to his ears. A sudden flare of danger in his sense informed him of a newcomer and he quickly spun around, his twin blades held out in front of his chest. Only then did he see the source of what he had sensed; not far away from him stood a figure covered by a dark cloak, its long woolen clothing rippling softly in the gentle wind.  
  
"Such savagery," the cloaked one commented distastefully.  
  
"What you call savagery is merely an aspect of life." The blades vanished into his sleeves and he slowly adjusted his hat. "The winner gets entertained while the loser gets to die in a pool of his own body fluids."  
  
"Swell," the cloaked one replied sarcastically.  
  
"So who are you and what do you want?" the demon in black asked, finishing up adjusting his hat. His eyes narrowed dangerously under the shadow, daring for a wrong answer.  
  
"I am here to make you an offer, Sir Yuber," the cloaked one began in a diplomatic voice, "one that would benefit you.greatly."  
  
"I could see little that you would be able to offer me, human. Unless." Yuber's form blurred as he dashed forward, closing the distance between the two in an instant. The twin blades sprung from his coat sleeves and he brought them down in a cross slash toward the cloaked one's chest. Sparks flew as the cloaked one smoothly brought its own sword to bear, blocking the slashes made by Yuber.  
  
"You wish to die by these blades?" Yuber finished his face now merely inches away from the dark hood of the cloaked one, their blades the only thing separating them. Yuber shifted his stance to further exert pressure on the twin blades he was holding in an attempt to force the cloaked one's sword away.  
  
"The circle is about to be complete. Albeit it's still years away from its true completion. Events have been set in motion that would allow it to come into being," the cloaked one said calmly, holding the bloodthirsty demon at bay with its own sword. Yuber's head snapped up suddenly at hearing this and then, as if with unspoken agreement, both pulled back their swords as they leapt away to land some distance from each other.  
  
"Well then what is your proposal?" Yuber asked, his mismatched eyes carefully studying the cloaked figure in front of him.  
  
"A chance to obtain one of the elemental true runes; certainly it would be much safer in your care." There was some distaste in the cloaked one's voice as it continued. "And there will be plenty of blood and chaos for you to enjoy."  
  
"Sounds like my kind of job." Yuber smirked and with a swish he sheathed the blades back into his sleeves. "What does it entail?"  
  
"Come to Vinay del Zexay and you will know," the cloaked one instructed as the ground rippled beneath him, signaling the opening of a teleportation circle. Without another word the cloaked figure submerged into the circle; when he has completely submerged into the ground, there was another ripple and the ground returned to normal.  
  
"A strong one. He was definitely holding back," Yuber commented darkly to himself. "But then again so was I. I think I am going to enjoy this."  
  
The demon named Yuber tilted back his head and laughed a laugh filled with enough malice to chill even the dead.  
  
**************************************************************************** ***  
  
Suikoden 3 Fanfic Conflict from within ch8:  
The Plan  
  
**************************************************************************** ***  
  
"So now the entire Zexen army is on its way to Karaya," Borus finished off, glancing around at the people that were assembled there. To his left sat Lady Chris, Hugo, Beecham and Sergeant Joe; to his right sat the Duck Village mayor, Kamia, and Dupa. Both Chris and Hugo appeared deep in thought while Kamia and the mayor looked troubled by this news and Dupa looked quite angry.  
  
"That is horrible news," the mayor said as he stood, his posture showing how tense he was. "I would like to hear Hugo's opinion on this."  
  
"What I would like to hear is why we weren't told the exact 'circumstance' of Lady Chris' arrival to Grassland," Dupa asked, focusing his attention at the young Karayan.  
  
"I made an error in my judgment," Hugo said, bowing his head. "And I apologize to all those who are present."  
  
"An error in judgment?" Dupa asked shaking his head sadly, the ornamental feathers on his head fluttering with the motion. "Hugo."  
  
"Now is not the time for this Dupa," Kamia said, stopping the Lizard Clan chief. "We should be worrying about the army."  
  
"What else can we do?" Dupa replied, his voice hard like steel. "We will gather our own army and teach these ironheads a lesson. My lizard warriors are on standby ever since we received Hugo's message. We could move at any moment."  
  
"If we do that then it's war for certain and we do not want that," Hugo said, glancing briefly to his right at Chris.  
  
"I don't understand it. If Lady Chris is still alive, couldn't she stop the Zexen army's advance herself? Once the troops see her, then they would have no reason to fight," the mayor suggested, worried and puzzled at the same time.  
  
"It may not be that easy. By what we have seen we are dealing with an exceptional clever enemy," Hugo explained. "They knew that Chris is still alive yet they still decided to start this conflict. Therefore we must assume that they probably would have a plan to counter that as well. So we must come up with something that will help avoid the situation in case Chris could not stop the knights from attacking."  
  
"Then what do you propose, Hugo? Surely you aren't thinking of letting Zexen burn down Karaya again?" Dupa replied, fixing Chris with a hard glare.  
  
"Far from it Dupa, but first I need to know a few things," Hugo said and then turned to Chris. "Lady Chris, I have been meaning to ask you for a long time. I noticed that there is no defensive fortification between the Lizard clan and Zexen lands. If someone were to travel from the Great Hollow, he could just go through Yaza Plain and into the heart of Zexen Federation without ever having to confront Brass Castle. Isn't that so?"  
  
"There was a fort there once, between Iksay Village and Yaza Plain, but it is abandoned now." Chris trailed off, her voice strained and for a moment Hugo thought he saw something in her beautiful features. A forlorn expression that belonged more on a lost child than on the mighty Silver Maiden, but it was gone so fast that it left Hugo pondering whether he had imagined it or not.  
  
"So you are right, there is neither fortification nor garrison between Great Hollow and the inner Zexen lands," Chris concluded, her voice carefully neutral. "That was the reason why the Lizard clan had such an easy access to Iksay."  
  
"Even if there were any, our mighty lizard warriors would have marched right through such a minor obstacle," Dupa countered, his eyes daring anyone to challenge him otherwise.  
  
"Never! Not if the fort still stood and not if he is still alive," Chris replied vehemently, glaring at the lizard chief.  
  
"Yet that fort is nothing more than rubble on the ground and that devil too is no more," Dupa countered, giving Chris a nasty grin.  
  
"What are you two talking about?" Hugo asked thoroughly confused.  
  
"They are talking about Fort Silverwind which was the same abandoned fort that Lady Chris mentioned," Borus replied suddenly, glancing at Chris with worry evident on his face while she looked away and bit her lower lip as if in thought.  
  
"Never mind that. It has little bearing on what I need to know. I have another question if either of you could answer me," Hugo asked, shaking his head. "Do you have any ways of recalling an army on the field in case of emergency?"  
  
"We have trained pigeons which will seek out our army and deliver emergency messages," Chris replied before Borus could, her voice carefully composed.  
  
"Alright, and one last question. You said that Percival is in command of the knights right now. Is he the type to take caution when facing with the unknown?" Hugo asked.  
  
"By himself, he will only take risks that he deems absolutely necessary," Chris replied slowly, considering the circumstances. "But if he is leading so many, he would probably be cautious about making a hasty decision. He will definitely make sure that things do not present any danger to him and his troops before proceeding. "  
  
"Yes, that was my impression of him as well during his stay as a fire bringer." Hugo nodded slowly to himself as if expecting that. "That is all I need to know, thank you Chris."  
  
"Why did you want to know about those things?" Chris asked, curious about what Hugo was trying to do.  
  
"Well all those questions are just to ensure that my plan would work properly," Hugo replied, giving Chris a confident grin. "Because I just might have to force the Zexens to withdraw without either side having to spill a single drop of blood."  
  
**************************************************************************** *******  
  
"So what have you learned?" Geddoe asked Ace and Joker as the two men entered the hut that served as the local inn in the village.  
  
"Well boss, looks like our Silver Maiden fell for the charms of the Fire Champion and they ran off to elope at Duck Village," Ace replied with a grin on his face. "Too bad though, I was looking forward to see the beautiful flower again."  
  
Queen rolled her eyes at the comment and Geddoe raised an eyebrow while Joker just drove his elbow into the ribs of the man beside him.  
  
"What Ace was trying to say was that Hugo and Lady Chris left for Duck Village yesterday. They went to a meeting between the clan chiefs of the Grasslands as I understand," Joker corrected while Ace doubled over from the hit.  
  
"So we missed her by a day. How unfortunate," Geddoe replied his forehead furrowed in thought.  
  
"What do we do? Do we wait for her here or go to Duck village?" Queen asked.  
  
"Time is against us in this matter, so we should inform her as soon as possible," Geddoe replied, sweeping his gaze across all those present.  
  
"What did you do that for?" Ace yelled, having finally straightened himself.  
  
"I see, by the way where is Aila?" Joker nodded while completely ignoring Ace's outburst.  
  
"She went to visit her family and friends," Jacques quietly replied.  
  
The sounds of people shouting outside caught their attention and they went to investigate. Slowly they made their way through the small crowd and they were surprised when they saw exactly who the sources of the commotion were.  
  
"Is that.?" Queen asked, surprised at the turn of events.  
  
"Borus Redrum of the six mighty Zexen knights and Beecham of Karaya," Geddoe finished.  
  
"Please gather only your essential belongings and return here as soon as possible. An army of Zexens is heading this way, and we are evacuating the village under Chief Hugo's orders!" Beecham shouted out to the people gathered there while Borus scanned the crowd uncomfortably, not at all successful in ignoring the many hostile glares directed at him. He seemed to have spotted Geddoe's party and started to make his way towards them.  
  
"Greetings Captain Geddoe, I did not expect to see you here," Borus greeted.  
  
"I could say the same Sir Borus; the last time we met here was under a very different circumstance," Geddoe replied, narrowing his good eye. "Or perhaps not so different after all given what we just learned."  
  
From the corner of his eyes Jacques noticed Aila amongst the crowd, who seemed to have finally noticed Borus and began marching towards the blonde Zexen knight, an angry expression on her face. Knowing that this would not be the best time to resolve their differences, Jacques quickly moved to intercept the Karayan girl, putting a hand on her shoulder while shaking his head. The Karayan girl stiffened under his touch and then sighed when she understood what he meant. Slowly she nodded and then resolved to just stand there and glare at Borus' back.  
  
"Things have changed, Captain Geddoe," Borus said, watching the true lighting rune bearer tensely.  
  
"Indeed? Then perhaps you would tell us why you are here?" Geddoe asked.  
  
"Actually, that is what I am about to ask. You see it would help us greatly if you would offer your assistance in helping to protect Karaya."  
  
Geddoe nodded slowly at Borus' reply. "I am listening."  
  
**************************************************************************** *******  
  
"Bazba, Shiba, get our troops mobilized and supplies ready! We are going into battle!" Dupa commanded his two lieutenants.  
  
"Not exactly battle per say," the duck mayor commented from beside the lizard chief. "Though it will be a messy situation if it does come to that."  
  
"If there are no risks in life, then things would be boring, old friend," Dupa replied, giving the mayor a wide tooth grin.  
  
"Where are we heading, Chief Dupa?" Bazba asked, slightly concerned.  
  
"To Brass Castle and Vinay del Zexay."  
  
**************************************************************************** *******  
  
"How are you feeling, Chris?" Hugo asked, glancing sideways at the woman riding besides him.  
  
"Nervous. I have no idea how the troops will react when they'll see me alive." Chris sighed, ruffling the mane on her horse. She was glad that they managed to find traders from Vinay del Zexay and bought the horses. Though it's not her white mare, the familiar sensation of riding calmed her nerves tremendously.  
  
"Well if we can stop them here on Plain Amur then it would save us all a whole lot of trouble," Hugo said shifting his grip on the reins of his own horse. He had decided to ride a horse as well since he had left Storm back in Karaya and if the situation degenerates he may well need the extra speed a mount could provide him.  
  
"I hope things go well here," Chris said looking into the distance.  
  
"Well we are about to find out," Hugo returned as a dust cloud rose in the distance. The ground began to tremor; at first it could barely be felt but as each second passed by it got stronger. The sounds of shouting and hooves beating against the ground became louder with each moment. The official banner of the Zexen Confederacy rose up into view, a splash of radiant color amidst a sea of gray.  
  
"Ready or not here they come."  
  
Up Next: The confrontation and Hugo's plan. 


End file.
